Dave's Diary

Daily Reading: 2 Kings 4:8-37

As I read the story of the Shunammite woman’s son this morning, it brings to mind the importance of persistent and prevailing prayer. The account has the feel of spiritual warfare to me. The young boy was brought into this world as a gift from God to a very kind and generous woman of means. She used her means to provide care and comfort for God’s servant, the prophet Elisha (Elijah’s successor), and God responded by blessing her with a son.

The son’s sudden death doesn’t appear to have been some mysterious work of God. Elisha had such an open line of communication with Yahweh that when he realised, “The Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why” (v.27), he immediately knew that this was God’s way of telling him that the death was outside of His will and needed to be resisted.

The faithful mother knew only one way to connect to God and cry out to Him for mercy and healing, and that was through Elisha. So she set out for Carmel immediately with unshakable faith in God’s ability to restore her son to her miraculously, with tenacious determination, but also with “bitter distress” and a deep anguish of soul. Upon reaching Elisha on Mount Carmel, all she could do was to fall at his feet in a desperate plea for help. Realising what had happened, Elisha sprang into action with uncommon urgency and great persistence. First, he sent Gehazi ahead to lay his staff on the boy’s face in what I would call an “enacted prayer”. When that didn’t work, Elisha went into the makeshift “prayer closet” of the boy’s room. This was no show for others to see. This was no publicity stunt. This was a desperate man facing a desperate situation with desperate faith and a settled refusal to go down without a fight – without contending for this boy’s life.

That fight took a while. First Elisha pleaded for the boy’s life wordlessly by lying down on top of him, then he stalked up and down the room (most likely in silent prayer of intercession and listening), and then he stretched himself out on top of the boy again (probably in obedience to the gentle whisper of God). And finally, in an instant, life returned to the boy’s body. Unlike Jesus, who would later raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead with a word of command, the great prophet Elisha had needed to plead to God for a miracle. Jesus was the Lord of life Himself. Elisha was only a man of God. But the Lord God Almighty was gracious to him and raised the boy from the dead in response to his passionate and persistent prayer.

Is there something in your life right now for which you are contending with passionate, persistent prayer? I think this story teaches us to contend with a very firm balance between passionate persistence and humble listening. As mere mortals (like Elisha) we need to humbly recognise that we don’t know it all and that there will be moments where God may explain to us (like he did to Paul in the event Paul related in 2 Corinthians 12) that His answer is “No” but that His grace will be sufficient for us and that He will empower us to cope with that “No”. So, we need to listen to the gentle whisper, just as Elisha did. But when God does not whisper, “No”, we are called to continue in passionate, persistent prayer and “never give up” (Luke 18:1)

Heavenly Father, hear my cry for Your intervention in my life and the lives of my loved ones. Holy Spirit, lead me as I pray. Speak Your heart to me, and guide my passion. Give me grace to accept Your, “No”, if I hear it whispered. But empower me to persist when I don’t. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

 

 

 

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As I read the story of the Shunammite woman’s son this morning, it brings to
mind the importance of persistent and prevailing prayer. The account has the
feel of spiritual warfare to me. The young boy was brought into this world as a
gift from God to a very kind and generous woman of means. She used her means to
provide care and comfort for God’s servant, the prophet Elisha (Elijah’s
successor), and God responded by blessing her with a son.

The son’s sudden death doesn’t appear to have been some mysterious work of
God. Elisha had such an open line of communication with Yahweh that when he
realised, “The Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why”
(v.27), he immediately knew that this was God’s way of telling him that the
death was outside of His will and needed to be resisted.

The faithful mother knew only one way to connect to God and cry out to Him
for mercy and healing, and that was through Elisha. So she set out for Carmel
immediately with unshakable faith in God’s ability to restore her son to her
miraculously, with tenacious determination, but also with “bitter
distress” and a deep anguish of soul. Upon reaching Elisha on Mount
Carmel, all she could do was to fall at his feet in a desperate plea for help.
Realising what had happened, Elisha sprang into action with uncommon urgency
and great persistence. First, he sent Gehazi ahead to lay his staff on the
boy’s face in what I would call an “enacted prayer”. When that didn’t
work, Elisha went into the makeshift “prayer closet” of the boy’s
room. This was no show for others to see. This was no publicity stunt. This was
a desperate man facing a desperate situation with desperate faith and a settled
refusal to go down without a fight – without contending for this boy’s life.

That fight took a while. First Elisha pleaded for the boy’s life wordlessly
by lying down on top of him, then he stalked up and down the room (most likely
in silent prayer of intercession and listening), and then he stretched himself
out on top of the boy again (probably in obedience to the gentle whisper of
God). And finally, in an instant, life returned to the boy’s body. Unlike
Jesus, who would later raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead with a word of
command, the great prophet Elisha had needed to plead to God for a miracle.
Jesus was the Lord of life Himself. Elisha was only a man of God. But the Lord
God Almighty was gracious to him and raised the boy from the dead in response
to his passionate and persistent prayer.

Is there something in your life right now for which you are contending with
passionate, persistent prayer? I think this story teaches us to contend with a
very firm balance between passionate persistence and humble listening. As mere
mortals (like Elisha) we need to humbly recognise that we don’t know it all and
that there will be moments where God may explain to us (like he did to Paul in
the event Paul related in 2 Corinthians 12) that His answer is “No”
but that His grace will be sufficient for us and that He will empower us to cope
with that “No”. So, we need to listen to the gentle whisper, just as
Elisha did. But when God does not whisper, “No”, we are called to
continue in passionate, persistent prayer and “never give up” (Luke
18:1)

Heavenly Father, hear my cry for Your intervention in my life and the lives
of my loved ones. Holy Spirit, lead me as I pray. Speak Your heart to me, and
guide my passion. Give me grace to accept Your, “No”, if I hear it
whispered. But empower me to persist when I don’t Amen.