And 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.  – 1 Kings 18:24

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes for me to put God on the spot.  When this happens, I immediately think of Elijah.  Elijah set up this impossible situation, where, if God did not show up, he was a dead man.  Had fire not come down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice he prepared; he was done for.  They would have killed him.  As it stood, the people did not kill Elijah, they killed the prophets of Baal for their lies and deception.  

I sure wish I could go into detail with this, but I cannot.  I can say that recently I encountered a man in distress.  Much distress.  This isn’t the type of person to show distress.  I have been telling this person about the Lord at every perceived opening and my attempts have been rejected every time.  When I asked him about the distress, he just said that he was in trouble with some people, and it would be over for him that day.  My entire thoughts went the route of the first paragraph I wrote.  

I simply said, “Do you know that God that I’ve been telling you about, that you keep rejecting?”  He said, “Yes.”  I said, “Would you mind if I called on Him for you, so that you will know at the end of this day, when all is well, that He came through for you?”  He said, “That is what I need.”  So, I offered up a prayer that went something like this:

Lord, I call on You today on my friend’s behalf.  We have a situation that only You can fix.  Will You work it out so that, by the end of this day, my friend has to look up and say, “God, You really came through for me today . . . thank You.”  May my friend come to know that You are for him, not against him, and begin to learn this day that You can be trusted.  Amen.

At the end of the day, a friend and I contacted him.  We simply asked, “Did God come through for you?”

“Yes”

Lord may this be the beginning of this man’s relationship with You.  May he step off the road that leads to destruction, and step on the narrow path that leads to life.  This is my prayer in the mighty name of Jesus, the name above all names, and the only name by which we must be saved.  Amen.