The prophet Elijah, alone against 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah in the court of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, proposed a contest on the summit of Mount Carmel. Each side would prepare a bull on an altar; the god who answered by fire would be acknowledged as God.
The prophets of Baal called on their god from morning until noon, cutting themselves and crying out. Nothing happened. Elijah mocked: 'Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened' (1 Kings 18:27).
When his turn came, Elijah rebuilt the ruined altar of the LORD, dug a trench around it, drenched the offering with water three times until even the trench was full, and prayed. 'Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt-offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, "The LORD indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God"' (1 Kings 18:38–39).