“…always pray and not give up.“ (Luke 18:1, NIV)
In our sermon series, Action Heroes, we will meet the Shunnamite woman in 2 Kings 4 this week. Give it a quick read – it’s a great story and she’s a real firecracker.
[Spoiler Alert!] Her son dies and she wants Elisha to resurrect him…so she gets on a donkey and travels as fast as she can to bring the prophet back to her dead boy.
At first, Elisha just wants to send his servant in his place – but the woman grabs hold of him and says: “…As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.“ (2 Kings 4:30, NIV)
When Elisha arrived and prayed for the child, the boy’s life was restored.
She had a problem and she knew it. She also knew who could fix it. And she wouldn’t leave until he did.
Let her story be an outline of prayer you: 1) Know what the issue is. 2) Know where the power is. 3) Persist in prayer until you receive God’s answer.
By the way, Jesus gives us the same outline for prayer in Luke 18:1-8. A widow has an issue, goes to the judge for justice, and keeps knocking at the door until he finally responded. Jesus summarizes the parable: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly… (Luke 18:7-8, NIV)
Keep on prayin’!
