06May16

2 Kings 4:32-33
"When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD."

This verse doesn't stand to well on its own so, let me give it a little context. Elisha was a powerful prophet of God during the Old Testament and performed lots of miracles throughout his life. While he was traveling from place to place he would stop and stay and different peoples' homes. One older lady, in particular, had gone and made him his own room on the roof of her house so that he could be more comfortable. So, he prayed to God that she would conceive in her old age and have a son... which she did. But, then the child died. The woman was obviously upset and called for Elisha to come and asked why he even bothered to give her a son if the boy was just going to die.

So Elisha sent her his staff and told her to place it on him. He thought that would be enough to raise him from the dead. But, it wasn't. So, when he showed up the boy was still dead. Elisha wasn't used to having his prayers go unanswered. This is the dude that called out bears to maul some teenagers that teased him about being bald! This is the guy that used dirty laundry to split the Jordan river! This guy was a miracle worker. But, his first attempt didn't work. He could have just stopped and said, "Oh well, looks like it's not God's will." But, Elisha knew the power of prayer and the power of God. So, he tried again.

Elisha goes in the room, shuts the door, and lays down on top of the boy face to face and prays for God to heal him. His second attempt is a failure. Does he give up? Would you? He paces around the room and then gets on top of the kid again and prays. The third time around the child wakes up and sneezes seven times. He's alive. God answered Elisha's payer... finally.

Sometimes it may feel like God's not answering our particular prayer. Sometimes it may feel like the one thing we have is dead and gone without recourse. But, even if God has worked one way in the past it does not mean he is going to do the same in the future. Don't mistake the fact that you not getting what you want the way you want it means God is inactive. Sometimes it just means you have to keep on praying, keep on trying, and have faith that we serve a God who can raise the dead... what you are facing is well within His control. What have you given up praying for today that you need to revisit?