The Fire of God

In 1 Kings 18 we see a very hopeful picture of the Christian life.  Elijah is in a power encounter with the forces of darkness.  He is in a face-off with the prophets of Baal.  They decide to build altars out of wood and placed a bull on the altar.  Then they decided that the God who answered by fire and burnt up the altar and offering is the true God. The prophets of Baal cried out all day and "there was no voice; no one answered; no one paid attention." That is the hopelessness of those who look to other "gods" besides the Lord.  Then Elijah cried out to the Lord and said, "Let it be known that You are God!"  And even though Elijah's altar was doused with water, the fire of the Lord fell and  consumed the offering. When the people saw it, "they fell on their faces and said, 'The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!"  We need the fire of God to fall on our lives. We can build the "altars" of commitment; we can provide the "bulls" of effort and offer our gifts and abilities to the Lord. But, unless God provides the Fire of His Spirit, nothing of any true spiritual worth will occur in our lives, our families, our churches, etc. Cry out for the fire of God to be poured out from on high!