Elijah called for a contest between him and the worshipers of Baal to

Elijah called for a contest between him and the worshipers of Baal to demonstrate God's power over the Baals. In this contest, both Elijah and the prophets of Baal prepared sacrifices and called upon their respective gods to send down fire from heaven to consume their offering. The prophets of Baal prayed and danced for hours, but their god did not answer. Elijah, on the other hand, called upon the Lord God of Israel and immediately fire came down from heaven, consumed the sacrifice, and licked up the water in the trench. This showed that God was the true God and that the power of the Baals was nothing compared to Him.