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Elijah on Mount Carmel
Bible Story

Elijah on Mount Carmel

Project in classBig-screen mode for Sunday school: large text, full screen and slide clicker support.Lesson kitA 45-minute plan, questions and a printable sheet for Sunday school.Where it happened: Mount CarmelSee it on the Bible map and find other stories from the same place.

Story summary

On Mount Carmel, Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal: the God who answered with fire would be the true God. The prophets of Baal shouted all day with no answer. Elijah soaked the altar with water three times and prayed a simple prayer. Fire fell from heaven and burned up everything, and the people declared: "The Lord is God!". Then the rain came back.

Where it is in the Bible: 1 Kings 18

Lesson for kids

There is only one true God, who hears and answers prayer.

Questions to talk about as a family

After reading, use these questions to help your child remember and apply the story.

  1. Why did Elijah have the altar soaked with water?
  2. What happened when Elijah prayed?
  3. How was Elijah’s prayer different from the prayers of the prophets of Baal?

The full story: Elijah on Mount Carmel

Part 1

For a long time, no rain had fallen in the land of Israel. The plants were dry, and the people were thirsty. King Ahab and his queen Jezebel did not worship the true God, but an idol named Baal.

God sent His prophet, Elijah, to speak with King Ahab. Elijah was brave and loved God. He told the king to gather all the people and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.

There, they would have a challenge to prove who the one true God is. It would be a great competition between Elijah's God and the false god Baal.

Part 2

On Mount Carmel, the 450 prophets of Baal built an altar. They placed a young bull on the wood, but they didn't light a fire. They started to pray to Baal, asking him to send fire from heaven.

They shouted and danced all day long around the altar, but there was no answer. Elijah watched and told them to shout louder, because maybe their god was busy. But nothing worked, because Baal was not a real god.

Elijah: Shout louder! Maybe he's sleeping or traveling.

Part 3

When it was his turn, Elijah repaired the Lord's old altar with twelve stones. He arranged the wood and placed the sacrifice on it. He wanted everyone to see the power of the true God.

Then, Elijah did something amazing! He asked them to bring four large jars of water and pour them over the altar. They did this three times, until the water filled the trench all around.

Everything was completely soaked. It would be impossible to light that fire in a normal way. Now, everyone waited to see what Elijah's God would do.

Part 4

Elijah prayed a simple and powerful prayer. He asked God to show everyone that He was the only God in Israel. He didn't need to shout or dance.

Suddenly, the Lord's fire fell from heaven! The fire consumed not only the sacrifice and the wood, but also the stones, the dust, and even the water that was in the trench. It was an incredible miracle!

When the people saw this, they all fell with their faces to the ground and shouted that the Lord was God. They finally understood who the true God was.

When all the people saw this, they fell down on their faces. They cried out, 'The Lord is God! The Lord is God!' — 1 Kings 18:39

Part 5

After the people recognized God, Elijah went up to the top of the mountain to pray. He asked God to send rain to the dry land. He prayed with great faith.

Elijah told his servant to look toward the sea. Six times the servant came back saying he saw nothing, but Elijah kept praying and told him to look a seventh time.

On the seventh time, the servant saw a small cloud, the size of a man's hand. Soon after, the sky grew dark, the wind blew, and a very heavy rain began to fall. God had heard Elijah's prayer!