We read one of the most exciting Bible stories in 1 Kings 18 where Elijah had a “showdown” with Baal’s 450 prophets on Mt. Carmel. Both sides placed a bull on an altar, with an ungifted wood pile underneath it.  They then would pray to their God (or god) to ignite the altar.

The prophets of Baal went first.  All day, they prayed, cried aloud, cut themselves, and danced trying to induce a god who didn’t exist to prove his existence.  I love the description of their efforts found in 1 Kings 18:29: “…no one answered; no one paid attention.”  Embarrassing utter defeat.

When it was his turn, Elijah did the unthinkable.  He poured so much water on the bull and on the wood, that the water runoff filled a trench he had dug around the altar.  Then, he prayed a simple prayer asking God to reveal Himself.  No crying.  No cutting.  No dancing.  God answered demonstratively.  Not only did God ignite the drenched wood, but the fire also consumed the bull, the wood, the stones that made up the altar, the dust around the altar, and licked up all the water in the trench.

Here is the contrast that challenged me this morning. Baal’s prophets had to go to great lengths to attempt to catch his attention.  The story includes a nugget of humor as we read Elijah’s “smack talk” as Baal’s prophets tried futilely to induce a nonexistent god to start a fire.

Elijah already had God’s attention and more importantly, God had his attention.  The sad irony, however, is that this God who pays constant attention to us, has to go to great lengths to get us to pay attention to him.

Heavenly Father, help me today to pay as much attention to YOU as You do to me.