TO CHEW ON: "He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord." 2 Kings 4:33
Elisha and his servant Gehazi did a lot of traveling. One day they went to Shunem. A rich woman there invited them for a meal in her house. Then, knowing Elisha often traveled to Shunem, she and her husband fixed up a room for Elisha and his servant. Now every time they came to town, they had a place to stay.
One day Elisha asked the woman, “After all you’ve done for us, what can we do for you?”
“I have everything I need,” she said.
“She doesn’t have any children,” Gehazi said to Elisha after she had left.
“Right,” said Elisha. “Call her back.”
When the woman came, Elisha said to her, “By this time next year, God will give you a son.”
Sure enough, a year later, she had a baby boy. She had never been happier! But one day, when the little boy was with his dad, he got sick. “My head! My head!” he cried. Servants carried him home. But a little while later he died.
Immediately his mother saddled a donkey and went to find Elisha. If anyone would know what to do, he would. When she found him, she persuaded him to go back with her.
When Elisha got to the house in Shunem he went into the room where the little boy lay.
He was still and cold. Elisha closed the door and prayed to God. After a while, he lay on top of the little boy. Slowly Elisha felt him grow warm. Finally he sneezed, seven times, and then opened his eyes.
Elisha called the Shunamite woman in. He gave her little boy back to her, alive again. She couldn’t thank Elisha or God enough for the miracle of her dead little boy – come back to life.
PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for Your power over death. Amen
MORE: A Promise
Has someone close to you died – a grandparent, uncle, friend, brother, sister or parent? Perhaps you prayed before they died that God would keep them alive. Maybe you prayed after they died that God would make them live again.
Though God has the power to raise people from death, He often doesn’t. And so we experience death. It is a sad, sad time.
But Jesus has won the final war over death. And we know that someday, because of Jesus, we will again see our loved ones who have died. It’s a Bible promise you might want to memorize.
"For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable,* and we will be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:52.
* ‘imperishable’ means a body or form that won’t decay or die. It will last forever.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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