Leader Guide

Prayer

Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to ask their idol to send fire onto their altar. After the prophets had prayed, shouted and danced for hours, Baal was silent. Why do you think the idol did not answer the prophets? He wasn’t real or alive.

Now it was Elijah’s turn. 

Optional: Read 1 Kings 18:36–37:

At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant. Prove that I have done all this at Your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that You, O Lord, are God and that You have brought them back to Yourself.”

Elijah did not issue this challenge to show off or to bring glory to himself. Elijah wanted one thing—for God’s people to know that the Lord is the true God of Israel. Elijah’s desire was that the people would come back to God, and that they would worship Him alone. There were 450 prophets of Baal and an additional 400 prophets of another idol called Asherah. It might have looked like Elijah was all alone, but is that really true?

He was not alone—the living God was with him! And God is with us, too! God is ready to hear and answer our prayers.

Today, we are going to pray for our community—our neighbors, family, friends, and classmates. Let’s pray as Elijah did, that people would come to the Lord and recognize that He alone is God!

Allow time for children to pray quietly, and encourage a few of them to pray out loud if they feel comfortable doing so. 

Close in prayer. Dear God, Elijah was a bold voice for You, even in front of a wicked king and hundreds of false prophets. We pray that You would help each of us live a life of love and also speak words of hope and truth—so that others would decide to serve You. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, to forgive us, and to bring us into a loving relationship with You, our Father in heaven. Fill us with the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we will always be ready to share the Good News of salvation with our friends, our family, our neighbors, and other people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.