“And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17)
Another awesome passage of scripture!!! I love how God responds to the prayers of His people!
In this passage of scripture the Syrians were attacking the people of God. Every time they set up an ambushment or blind attack, God would forewarn Elisha and he the king of Israel, and Israel was saved once again! It seemed to the king of Syria that he had a mole, someone who would tip off the Israelites beforehand so they would be safe. Notice in the verses above this passage that the king’s advisors told him it was Elisha, the prophet of God, who was advising them. He had a reputation for getting ahold of God and finding out the latest intelligence report from the King of kings!
The part I want to concentrate on, however, is Elisha’s servant. He couldn’t see what the prophet could. He was operating strictly on the physical level. When he looked out in the morning all he could see was enemy troops surrounding the city. He had heard the prophetic utterances of Elisha, he had witnessed amazing things at the hand of Elisha. Yet this seemed too much to wrap his head around.
Instead of tongue-lashing his servant (as many pastors and leaders do today), Elisha prayed a simple prayer: “LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.” And God did! When the servant looked again he saw the same troops surrounding the city, but he also saw the hosts of God’s heavenly army surrounding THEM! Talk about a confidence booster!
How many times has your pastor or spiritual leader given you advice based upon scripture and personal revelation pertaining to your situation, yet you just couldn’t come into step with it? It just seemed too impossible to even be real! Yet God, in His infinite mercy, opens our eyes (if we will let Him) and gives us a glimpse into the supernatural. We have SO MANY promises in the Bible given to believers, yet we just can’t seem to believe them. Even the ones printed in red (the words of Jesus Himself) often seem out of our reach!
My challenge to you today, my friend, is to take just one promise – ONE. Memorize it. Speak it over and over throughout the days (maybe weeks, if needed), let it take root in your heart and spirit. Let God water it, let His Son shine upon it, refuse to let go of it. And see if God will not honor His Word. Do you need a healinig today? I can promise you from experience, God still heals. Do you need a deliverance today from a bad habit or a sin? Again, I promise you God wants to deliver you! Do you need salvation today? That is a given – I KNOW God wants to save you! Just take that one and hold onto it until God fulfills it in your life. There’s a lot more teaching and counseling that goes with this because we are all carnal creatures. I would LOVE to believe God for a million dollars! Or, as pastor says, a red Lamborghini with tan leather interior. But don’t be foolish. The Bible addresses this level of self-aggrandizing prayer – and it’s not good. Believe small at first. You can’t go into a gym and lift hundreds of pounds of weights right away. It takes time to build your spiritual muscle. Pray, instead, for deliverance from smoking, or pray for the salvation of a loved one. Start small and let God build your faith muscle. In time you will have greater faith, greater trust, and greater vision.
And you will see as Elisha’s servant saw. My prayer is that God will open your eyes today. May you see your life and the world as He sees it. May the love of God overwhelm your heart and give you the grace to serve others – even in your pain. Hold steady, dear reader, God has it all in His hands.
Be blessed.
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