Honor His Finished Work

1 Kings 18:17-38

This chapter from 1 Kings tells the story of Elijah calling down fire from heaven on Mt. Carmel. It is one of the most popular stories from the Old Testament, showing the power of the almighty God and His judgment against the false gods of this world. There are too many great things within the story to take much time trying to bring them out in a simple devotion, so I want to focus on one tiny aspect which made an enormous difference.

Elijah was certainly a man of faith and power, but James bears out that he “was a man subject to like passions as we are” (James 5:17). This verse falls within a passage on prayer and James is bringing out that though Elijah could pray and see great things happen, he was no different than you or I. Elijah had the same failures and temptations that we did, so his prayers were not being answered because he lived a holier lifestyle, or he spent more time with God. What was the reason that Elijah could pray and God would move?

When Elijah gave the challenge to the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, he allowed them to go first, praying to Baal to consume their sacrifice by fire. They prophesied and cried from the morning all the way until mid-afternoon with no response from their god. They had put maximum effort into their prayer, but they had received no results.

At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah began his prayer to God for the fire to fall (1 Kings 18:36). As they say, timing is everything, and Elijah is obviously aware of what time of day that it is. In Israel, there were two sacrifices to God every day; one at 9 a.m. called the morning sacrifice, and one at 3 p.m. called the evening sacrifice. Both were symbolic of the coming Redeemer and His death as payment for man’s sin.

Jesus was placed on the cross at 9 a.m. and then died at 3 p.m., both corresponding with the timing of the daily schedule. Thus, the time of the evening sacrifice can be identified with the cry of Jesus at the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Any adherence to an evening sacrifice on the part of an Old Testament prophet becomes identification with the finished work of Jesus Christ, though Jesus had yet to come. Elijah waits until the time of the evening sacrifice to say a simple prayer, consisting of only 63 words in the KJV, and then the fire of God falls and consumes the sacrifice. There is no evidence of Elijah begging or screaming or making a great show during his prayer. These things were unnecessary, for Elijah had waited until the hour of “It is finished”, thus honoring the finished work. The fire does not fall because of Elijah; it falls because of Jesus!

Honor the finished work of Christ in your prayer life and watch God respond with great power. This does not mean that we don’t pray until 3 p.m., for the Old Testament was simply a shadow of things to come. You and I have the finished work of Christ in us at all times, so as we honor what Christ did for us at Calvary, we rest in that work. Your prayer life is only as powerful as the Jesus that you know. If you are always begging God with much pleading, then you send the message that God is slow to move and is waiting for your good works. In truth, the Lord is swift to move because of the work of Jesus at Calvary. Honor the cross and its work, and God honors you!