Answer me so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself [Heb. you have turned their heart back again].” 1 Kings 18:37 NLT
What a moment that must have been! All the day the prophets of Baal had been beseeching their god to strike the slain bull on the altar with fire. But nothing had happened. More and more frantically they had prayed, intermixing their prayers with magical rituals. Still, nothing had happened. Now, as evening falls, Elijah, having directed his altar and offering to be drenched with water, offers a two-sentence prayer. What happened? A lightning bolt struck the altar so powerfully that not only was the offering consumed but the water was sucked up and the very stones of the altar were pulverized. Yahweh did indeed answer!
But I am interested at what Elijah wanted this event to accomplish. I think most of us who know the story focus on the first and overlook the second. What did he want to prove? He wanted to prove that Yahweh is God and Baal is not: “so these people will know, O Yahweh, that you are God.” That is, it was an intellectual issue. That is certainly correct; religious faith ought to be rooted in correct understanding. Many people are led astray in the world today by believing falsehoods, things that are factually incorrect.
But is believing intellectual truth enough? Will that satisfy God? It will not. God wants our hearts. That is, he wants US. He wants our minds, yes, but he wants much more. He wants us to give him ourselves including our affections and our loyalties (hearts). There are astrophysicists today who are theists. That is, their studies have led them to a belief that there must be a Divine Being. But that is not enough. God wants their hearts.
Are you convinced of the truth of the Biblical claims about God and Christ? That is well and good, but does he have YOU? Baal had stolen the hearts of the Israelites. Elijah wanted to win them back. American culture has stolen the hearts of many of us. Can Yahweh have them back?
Called To Be Transformed 