“Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told him saying, “The man of God has come here.” And the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, “Will I recover from this sickness?”
The Magic 8 ball. These are still around today and fun to play with. You would ask a question like, “Am going to get A on my paper?” and then you would shake the 8 ball until an answer would come up….”not likely.” It is a fun game and even Sponge-bob has an episode where they obey the magic conch shell.
Elisha was the Magic 8 ball from the Lord. His ability to get answers from the Lord spread across many lines and in this case it spread to the neighboring country, Aram. Ben Hadad, the king of Aram, was very sick. When someone told the him that the man of God had come to Damascus he said go ask him, and bring him a gift so he can tell me if I am going to recover from this sickness. Now you have to understand that Ben-Hadad was an evil man and lived his life far from the ways of the Lord. He even tried to kill Elisha by besieging the city he was in (2 Kings chapter 6-7) after Elisha told the king of Israel his every move. To say it plainly, he was not Elisha’s friend at all. Put that same man on his death bed with a great sickness and who is the first person he seeks for an answer…the prophet, Elisha.
In the Bible, we read about everything the Israelites went through and one thing is true, that if the prophet said it, it happened. Elisha was the magic 8 ball and everyone knew it. Even an evil man like the king of Aram knew where to go get answers. My question to you today is, where do you go to get answers? Some people wait until they are knocking at death’s door to inquire of the Lord. Some people even ask God silly questions like they are playing a game such as the Magic 8 ball. Using God as a horoscope to plan your next move is not what a relationship Christ is all about.
Jesus was given to us by God himself to bridge the gap between man and God by dying on the cross and shedding His blood for the forgiveness of all of our sins. We no longer have to look for a prophet to inquire of the Lord when the chips are down in our lives. We simply have to pray. Yes that is right.
In Acts chapter 2 we read about the Holy Spirit and how the people in the upper room were baptized with tongues of fire as the Holy Spirit rested upon them. Instead of the spirit of God being used by one person, like in Elisha’s day, if you a follower of Christ then His spirit lives within you. (Romans 8:11) Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” We don’t have to ask where the prophet is and bring gifts to him acting like bribing him will make a difference.
Pray today and every day because when you do, God hears your prayer. Gone are the days when only the holy man of God heard from the Lord. Jesus brought in the time where we all have access to the Lord through the Holy Spirit. Start getting to know the Holy Spirit within you.
Prayer: Father, we often times forget to develop a relationship with Holy Spirit thinking that he is some third string deity in the dugout of heaven who we seldom hear from. When your spirit rested upon Elisha, he spoke the word of the Lord and signs and wonders followed him. Your Word tells us that we will do these same signs and wonders because Holy Spirit lives inside of us. We all would like to know the future, but I pray that we would rest in the Lord and the power of His might for our future. I know that if we acknowledge Him all of our ways he will direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6) In Jesus name, amen.
Let It Go 
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