1 Kings 18:31

1 Kings 18:31 says, And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:  Elijah took twelve stones to represent all the tribes of Israel and not just the number of those in the divided kingdom.  We are all a part of the kingdom of God as followers of Christ and should never view ourselves as a divided kingdom.  Even if we are from different countries, we are all an equal part of God's kingdom as Christians, and the same applies to different denominations.  Verse thirty-two adds, And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.  Elijah then built an altar to God with the stones and dug a deep trench around it.  Since the stones represented the tribes of Israel, they were now united in becoming a part of the altar of God to be used to make sacrifices and bring honor to Him.  We as Christians are to be used to bring sacrifices and honor to God.  Verse thirty-three continues, And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.  After Elijah killed the bullock and cut it in pieces for the sacrifice, he told the people there to fill four barrels of water and throw it on the sacrifice.  This hadn't been done to the sacrifice to Baal, and his prophets still had not been able to get him to send fire and consume the sacrifice.  We can always expect God to do even more than any false God can ever hope to.  Verse thirty-four states, And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.  Elijah then told them to do this a second and a third time and they did.  I have to believe that Elijah was doing this under the direction of God and not to just show off.  We need to make certain that we never just start showing of as Christians and presuming on the power of God, but we must always do what He calls us to do for His honor and glory and not for our own.  Verse thirty-five adds, And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.  The water was running about the sacrifice, but Elijah filled the trench as well.  It was thoroughly soaked and therefore would be even harder to be burned.  God will always be able to do whatever He needs to do to prove His power if we are only willing to look to Him by faith.  Verse thirty-six continues, And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.  At the time of the evening sacrifices, Elijah asked God to show that He was the God of Israel and that Elijah had done these things by God's word or command.  Whatever we do as Christians if we are going to be successful spiritually, we must do by God's command and for His glory and not our own.  Verse thirty-seven concludes, Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Elijah again asked God to hear him and show the people of Israel that He alone was God and was calling them back to Himself.  We have no indication that Elijah went through any elaborate rituals or theatrics, but He simply called on God.  We need to always keep the focus on God when we gather together to worship Him.  Verse thirty-eight declares, Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  God sent fire that consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones of the altar, the dust, and licked up the water as well.  God heard Elijah and answered him in a mighty way, and He will always hear His people today when they call on Him.  I believe that He will also answer in the best way possible.  Verse thirty-nine adds. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.  When the people saw what had happened, the fell down with their faces to the ground and proclaimed that the Lord was God, and they repeated the statement.  God did something even greater when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, and we as Christians should always come to Him in an attitude of humbleness.