Death, debt and barrenness are impossible situations that create a prison sentence in life. Yet a few moms in the Bible defied their circumstances defined by death, debt and barrenness. These moms show us how we can see the impossible happen in us.
In 2 Kings 4:1, a widow whose husband served the prophets, came to Elisha. Her husband’s death removed any means of making a living. Creditors were at the door wanting to enslave her son to pay her debts.Elisha asks the woman what does she have in her house. “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. He instructs her to borrow empty jars from her neighbor, then go into the house with her son and pour the olive oil into the jars. The oil kept flowing as long as their was a jar to fill.
When she was finished, she told Elisha and he told her to sell the oil, pay off her debtors and live on the remaining proceeds. From this scenario, here’s how that mom moved in the impossible:
She had a record of service for the prophetic. The widow appealed to Elisha based on her husband’s history of serving him. That relationship caused Elisha to bring the power of God on the scene for her situation.
She had to take action. The prophet didn’t give her a handout. He told her what to do and it was up to her whether she was going to follow through or not. Her blessing depended on her obedience to the prophet’s word.
If the widow was lazy and didn’t respond to the prophet’s instructions, her son would have become a slave. Her obedience and quick response unleashed God’s blessing in her household. She was not only saved from the debtor but had provision for her future.
Another woman in I Kings 4 experienced the impossible from the prophet. The wealthy woman in Shunem would provide dinner for Elisha whenever he was in town. Soon she talked her husband into adding a room for Elisha in her home.
The wealthy woman in Shunem made room for the prophet. Elisha is so impressed by her service and provision that he tells her servant to ask the woman what does she want. She tells Elisha that she is well taken care of and has no needs.
The servant, Gehazi, notices that she doesn’t have a son and her husband is older. Elisha announces to her that this time next year that she will have a son. She replies, “No, my lord!” she cried. “O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.”
The woman gets pregnant despite her husband’s advancing years but her son dies when he’s older. Elisha brings the boy back to life when he lays on top of him.
“When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed. He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord. Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child’s body began to grow warm again! Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!” (I Kings 4:32-35)
This woman’s situation gives us clues to how we can see God do the impossible in our lives:
Make room and support the prophetic ministry. This woman added a room for the prophet. She provided for him and made sure his needs were taken care of. When she took care of his needs, the Lord took care of her desires.
Both of these women had a relationship and record of serving the prophets. You may not have a prophet in your church, but their are prophetic ministries that you can support or get involved in. When you support the work of God, He will cause the impossible to become possible in your life.
I’ve seen the impossible happen many times in my life. I knew that God wanted me to marry a man who loved Him. I told my friends that I was going to marry a man who had a prophetic anointing and they thought I was crazy. At the time, I didn’t know any men who had a prophetic anointing.
I was leaving for a conference when a member of a prophetic ministry called me to ask me what I would like prayer for. She said that their prophetic team was going on a prayer retreat and they were calling their supporters to find out how they can stand with them in prayer. I asked for prayer for a husband.
