Passage
And it came to pass at [the time of] the offering up of the oblation, that Elijah the prophet drew near, and said, Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things by thy word.
Nearby Context
1 Kings 18:34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
1 Kings 18:35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
1 Kings 18:36 And it came to pass at [the time of] the offering up of the oblation, that Elijah the prophet drew near, and said, Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things by thy word.
1 Kings 18:37 Answer me, Jehovah, answer me, that this people may know that thou Jehovah art God, and [that] *thou* hast turned their heart back again.
1 Kings 18:38 And the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "came", "pass", "time", "offering", "oblation", "elijah", "prophet", and "drew". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "pass", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 35's "And the water ran round about the..." into verse 37's "Answer me Jehovah answer me that this...", so "came" and "pass" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "came" and "pass" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.