And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
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Elisha prayed and asked the Lord to open the eyes of his servant in response to his fearful words. Elisha's servant had emerged from his tent ready to accomplish his tasks for the day when he immediately saw that they were surrounded by a great army on every side. He cried out, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"
Elisha doesn't even bat an eye but instead declares, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." He then proceeded to take action to confirm his statement of reassurance and what he does is simply ...'And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.' He prayed! The only action Elisha took at his servants cry was to make statement of faith and then he prayed and lifted it to God. I wonder how often we take the same actions without fail?
Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea,' it will be done. And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matthew 21:21-22
So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you." Luke 17:6
So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart , but believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:22-24
We tend to think that 'mustard seed faith' is a New Testament concept because it is something that Jesus addressed on more than one occasion but the truth is, it is an Old, New, and for all time, God idea! Take a look at Elisha in the example above. He didn't wait for the Lord to speak. He spoke his declaration! Then he prayed and lifted it to God, and God did it. The word prayed is 6419 in the Strong's and it means; to judge officially or mentally, to intercede, pray. He immediately judged that the servant needed to know what he knew, 'God was with them,' and it says that he said to God, "Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." The word pray is 4994 and according to the Strong's definition it is a particle of incitement and entreaty. There was no doubt or hesitation in any of his statements or in his asking that the Father would show the young man what he knew to be the truth. It says that God responded to his words and did exactly what Elisha asked! ...'Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.' And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.' He declared in faith. Asked the Father believing and then he received. Looks like our idea of mustard seed faith to me!
This great example doesn't stop there. Look a little further in the account. It gets even better! ...So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed (judged officially or mentally)to the Lord, and said, "Strike this people, I pray,(I entreat) with blindness." And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Did you see what happened? He judged the situation and in faith he spoke it and asked the Lord to strike them with blindness. It said that ...He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. According to the word of Elisha. God did what Elisha asked. He did exactly what Elisha spoke to the mountain!
Elisha understood what Jesus tried to explain to His disciples. Faith matters! He understood 'Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.' and he shared that truth with his servant. He understood that he had the authority in this situation because he understood all he had to do was speak a word in faith, believing and look to God for the result. Did you notice that ...the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.' wasn't the solution that brought the victory. They were just the reassurance for Elisha's servant that God was on their side! The words that Elisha spoke and lifted to the Father are what brought the victory over the Syrian army not the heavenly host that was revealed to the servant.
Elisha had faith in God. He spoke to the situation in faith, believing. He lifted it to God fully expecting God to respond and then, he received! Mustard seed faith works every time! Go... Speak... Believe... Move Mountains Today!
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