So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (II Kings 6:16, NKJV)
When God is on your side, the enemy doesn’t have a chance. Sometimes He responds in very unexpected ways when we pray for His help. Let me tell you one such story from the Old Testament. It may make you smile.
The king of Syria was frustrated. None of the plans he made against Israel, ever worked. The enemy always seemed one step ahead. Puzzled, the king suspected a traitor among his servants. How else could the Israelites anticipate his every move? It wasn’t a traitor, the king’s men explained. It was Elisha, the prophet of the Lord.
“Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” (II Kings 6:12, NKJV)
THE KING’S PLAN
The king ordered his men to find Elisha and to bring the prophet to him. Here is where the king’s logic broke down. If God revealed the king’s every move to Elisha, wouldn’t He reveal this plan as well? But that night the army moved out as ordered and surrounded Dothan, where they heard Elisha could be found.
Early the next morning, Elisha’s servant panicked when he saw the city surrounded by the horses and chariots of the Syrian army. In his fear, the servant asked, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” Elisha did not panic. Instead, he prayed for the Lord to open his servant’s eyes to what was really happening that morning. Heavenly reinforcements had arrived!
“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.” (Verse 17)
There was no battle that morning. Instead, after a simple prayer by Elisha, the enemy army was blinded to their location. They did not realize the man who offered to show them the way was the very man they were seeking. When the Lord opened their eyes, they discovered they were standing in Samaria. Now they were the ones surrounded.
Instead of killing their enemies, as one would expect in war, Elisha told the king of Israel to feed them and send them on their way home. They were treated like guests, not the enemy.
“Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.” (II Kings 6:23, NKJV)
Sometimes God orchestrates victory in unusual ways. This was one of those times.
PRAYING ELISHA’S PRAYER
Have you ever felt outnumbered and overwhelmed by situations in your life? Do you wonder where God is and if He cares about the battle you are facing? We do not always recognize that God is at work in ways we do not see or understand. Like Elisha’s servant, we are blind to the heavenly reinforcements that surround us. Rather than panic, we need to pray Elisha’s prayer. “Lord, open my eyes to see the work that You are doing in my behalf.”
Psalm 34:7 says, “The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (NKJV). We are not facing the battle alone. Reinforcements have arrived.
God is on our side and promises He will never forsake us in times of trouble.
- “. . . For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6, NKJV)
- “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6, NKJV)
(Take time to read the entire story in II Kings 6:8-23.)
Devotion by Mary Loudermilk
