A 63 Word Prayer That Changed A Nation-Part 1

1 Kings 18 

The people of God have for the most part turned their backs on the Lord and have gone after the Canaanite god Baal. It is against this backdrop of apostasy and idolatry that the prophet Elijah strolls onto the scene. He is introduced in 1 Kings 17:1. When he makes his appearance, he comes with a message from the Lord. It is a clarion call for repentance and for a renewal to loyalty to Jehovah.

In chapter 18 things have come to a head. On the one hand there is Ahab, Jezebel, the prophets and priests of Baal, and a fallen nation. On the other, there is Elijah and God. The odds may looked stacked in the favor of evil, but the truth is that one plus God is a majority.

4 things come to mind concerning our world today in comparison with this scripture:

-There is a desperate need for spiritual heroes today who will stand against the tide of heresy and apostasy.

-There is a need for the people of God to gage their allegiance to the Lord and to determine where we really stand when it comes to being on the Lord's side.

-There must be a willingness to flee the evil that surrounds us and be a separate people for the glory of the Lord.

-There must be a desire to renew our commitment to the Lord and place Him above all other pursuits, interests, and loyalties.

Verses 21-24 

Israel enjoyed their name as God's people, but they loved the sensual, fleshly appeal of Baal worship. They were torn between two ideas and as a result they were at a stand still. Baal was the principle deity of the Canaanites. He along with Ashtoreth were worshiped through human sacrifice and sexual immorality. In some places, women were forced to serve as prostitutes in the temples of false worship.

God's people had fallen a long way from the nation that had entered and conquered Canaan hundreds of years before. Now they were a politically divided and apostate nation. Whether we like to admit it or not the church today is in the midst of apostasy and waywardness. However, the Lord said that things would be this way before He returned. When we see denominations and churches grapple with issues like abortion and homosexuality or we see them turn from the proclamation of the truth and begin to produce error isn't it plain to see that we are living in an age of apostasy?

Elijah's admonition is direct and to the point. He tells them that they have to make a choice. Elijah tells them that they must choose which side they will be on since they cannot serve 2 gods.

Although hundreds of years have elapsed since Elijah faced the Bail prophets on Carmel many things have changed. Culture is vastly different now than it was then, religious practice has changed, the world itself is nothing like it was back then. However, one thing remains the same, God. If a man is going to be right with God, then he must take his stand apart from the world. No one can have both. It is either God or it is the world. There can be no compromise.