Panic or Peace

 “…and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon…but there was no voice; no one answered. …they leaped about the altar…they cried out with a loud voice and cut themselves…they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. ‘O, LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their heart back again.’” 1 Kings 18:36-37

If I could open my folding chair and watch this scene unfold, I don’t know whether I would feel completely overwhelmed from watching chaotic panic or spiritual sadness that they had the choice to also call on God but failed. The lengths that the Bible went to in giving details about this day reminds us that we can learn from every story in the Bible. He didn’t breathe His holy fire into Scripture to fill up the pages but rather to fill up our hearts. So much of God’s will is centered around turning our hearts back to Him. His greatest desire for each of us is intimacy with Him and fellowship through prayer. The ear of God is most attuned when our prayers are rooted in relationship instead of platitudes or panic.

There have been many times in my life when I was desperately seeking my will over His will. My prayers were filled with panic and pleadings instead of praise and peace. Like the Baal worshippers I was more interested in the fire falling – my will be done - than in the fellowship with the One who provided the fire. God invites us to pray in His name for anything our hearts desire, but that invitation comes through an active fellowship with Him first and foremost. Prayer is one of the greatest gifts given, but rarely do we see it as a divine gift and privilege. Our prayers can be lukewarm and boring if we are honest with ourselves. But even if we don’t feel like praying, we must push through our feelings and seek fellowship with the One who deserves our time…our words…our hearts. When we approach Him with our will stamped in our mind and on our heart, we miss the target all together. Prayer is not a place where deals are made and negotiations are formed. Prayer was never intended as a means to get our way, rather intended as a means to experience our God. Everything else is the overflow of that relationship.

‘Prayer itself is a gift, not an entitlement. It is God’s gracious idea for giving us a divinely orchestrated mechanism through which we can have ongoing fellowship with Him and where He allows us to be active participants in the outworking of His purposes on Earth.’ Elijah – Faith and Fire, Priscilla Shirer, p. 168.