Two things are to be considered from our text. The first was the timing of Elijah’s sacrifice. We understand it was the time of the evening sacrifice; precisely by 3 pm. That was the time stipulated by God for the second sacrifice of the day. It was no surprise that God honoured Elijah the way He did; the prophet had followed divine pattern and divine timing. When we do what God wants the way He wants it, we can also be assured of divinely orchestrated results.

“The prophet had followed divine pattern and divine timing. When we do what God wants the way He wants it, we can also be assured of divinely orchestrated results.”

The second thing of importance was the tenor of Elijah’s prayer. He begged God for heaven’s fire so that it would be clear that He was the true God in the land. He also pleaded that God would vindicate him that he had “done all these things at thy word”. So it is clear that when he stood before Ahab to pronounce famine he wasn’t trying to flex any spiritual muscle. His concern was to make God known to the people and turn their hearts to their Creator. This is how to know genuine ministry from the fake. Genuine ministries and ministers have one main objective; that is, to point people to God. Be wary of those who are not content to be men of God but are gearing towards becoming god of men.