Elijah’s feet pounded on the trail. His legs stretched out to cover the miles. He outran the king’s chariot. He outran the wind blowing up the storm-clouds overhead. Strength to run like this after the day he had been through was a gift from God.

God had been giving him strength like that all along; strength that had always amazed him. There had been the strength to tell King Ahab that he was a fool and a blasphemer. There had been the strength to prophesy that there would be no more rain until Israel called again on the name of the Lord. On this very day God had given him the strength to win the most dramatic contest the world had ever seen.

The terms of the contest had been simple. In the presence of the people of Israel, both the prophets of Baal and the prophet of the Lord were to bu…