God is responsive to us. Are we responsive to God? Each of us must choose his God. It’s a personal decision and certainly one of grave importance. Some opt to “wait and see,” but that in itself is a choice. Others choose to mix a bit of this with a dash of that to create a god of their own making. That trend represents nothing new, having existed as long as man.

Elijah’s contest

One Old Testament scene lives vividly in my mind, a contest proposed by the prophet Elijah. Though vastly outnumbered by the 450 prophets of the false god Baal and hated by many in the kingdom for the multi-year drought which plagued the land, Elijah bravely specified the ground rules for the contest. The winner would be the first God to answer the request for fire to consume a sacrifice.

The majority of the Israelites had a problem choosing their God with some siding with Baal and others siding with Asherah. A small remnant remained true to the one God of Israel. King Ahab, married to and totally whooped by wicked Queen Jezebel, failed miserably in the spiritual responsibilities he held as ruler.

The people wait and watch

As the people of Israel listened to Elijah’s rules they agreed (1 Kings 18:24), “That is a good idea.” And so the lopsided contest began in the morning with the prophets of Baal deploying every trick they knew to gain an audience and secure a real-time response from Baal.

Sad, isn’t it? The record states:

When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

1 Kings 18:29 NASB

Baal had failed them. And that sums up the result experienced by people who choose a god other than Jehovah. Elijah took his turn and offered a relatively short prayer to his God (62 words in the NASB).

At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. “Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.”

1 Kings 18:36-37 NASB

God responds in a big way

And the response was immediate. Fire from the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones of the altar and the water Elijah had insisted be poured into the trench he had dug around the altar. The people found their choice of God to be quite easy at that moment. By the way the prone position before God is a common response throughout Scripture for those who experience such a clear manifestation of His power and Person.

When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.”

1 Kings 18:39 NASB

Psalm 115 (author unknown) offers one of the best summaries of the characteristics of man-made gods.

Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.

Psalms 115:4-8 NASB

In short, man-made gods are not responsive. Contrast that description with these facts about God:

  • God speaks.
  • God sees.
  • God hears.
  • God works.

As we saw in Elijah’s contest God is responsive to the prayer and needs of His people. Before we call, out to Him and while we are still speaking, God is already at work. He makes that very promise.

It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

Isaiah 65:24 NASB

But know that the LORD has set apart the godly man for Himself; The LORD hears when I call to Him.

Psalms 4:3 NASB

In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Psalms 18:6 NASB

As for me, I said in my alarm, “I am cut off from before Your eyes;” Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried to You. 

Psalms 31:22 NASB

I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Psalms 34:4 NASB

This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him And saved him out of all his troubles.

Psalms 34:6 NASB

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. 

Psalms 34:15 NASB

The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. 

Psalms 34:17 NASB

I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. 

Psalms 116:1-2 NASB

But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.  

Micah 7:7 NASB

These words describe God as responsive.

We have to choose our God. Keep in mind that Jehovah already chose you and me. He sent His only Son to die in our place and settle the sin-debt each of us owes. Our choice is:

1. Follow an idol, a man-made system of belief.

or

2. Follow Jehovah God.

Seems like a no-brainer to me just as it did to the Israelites after Elijah’s confrontation with the false prophets. The big question—Are we responsive to God?