Have you ever been in a contest, of any kind, where the odds were stacked against you?
Can you imagine stacking the odds against yourself on purpose?

That is exactly what Elijah did!  But he knew the outcome because he was on the same side as the LORD!

Elijah had King Ahab gather 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah on the top of Mount Carmel.  From this mountain you can see the plain of Jezreel for miles and miles.

Elijah stated the obvious… he was the only prophet of the LORD and there were 450 prophets of Baal.

He asked for two sacrificial oxen.  And he told the 450 prophets to choose the one they wanted for a sacrifice and he would take the other.  Both oxen would be killed and cut up, placed on wood BUT no fire was to be lit.  I Kings 18:22-23

(NASB) 1 Kings 18:24 “‘Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.’  And all the people said, ‘That is a good idea.’”

It would seem Elijah was proposing a lop-sided contest – with the greatest likelihood of 450 prophets choosing the sacrifice they thought most perfect would “win”.

What did Elijah know?  He knew the LORD was God!  Elijah didn’t have to prove who God was, God would do that Himself!

Who do you believe is God?

The LORD God knows you! 
(NASB) Psalm 139:1-2 “O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.”

He sees your need.
(NASB) Psalm 139:3 “You scrutinize (discern) my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways…”

He hears your prayers.
(NASB) Psalm 139:4 “Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD You know it all.”

He answers all who call on Him to be saved.
(NASB) John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

~ Take it to heart ~

No contest is lop-sided
when you are on the same side as the living God!