Lord, Teach Us To Pray! Part 215

Prayers of the Old Testament
The Prayer of Elisha continued...

Elisha’s prayer did not make the horses and chariots of fire appear. They were already there and had been long before the servant’s eyes were opened. What happened upon Elisha’s prayer was that the servant’s eyes were opened to the spiritual reality surrounding them.

The angels of the Lord already encamp around those who fear Him. The horses and chariots of fire already surround the saints of God. It is we who must have our eyes opened to the already present reality.

No, this is neither splitting hairs, nor is it semantics. There is a distinction and marked difference between having one’s eyes opened to what is already there, and making something appear as though out of nowhere.

The reason this distinction is important is because the angels of the Lord are perpetually about, perpetually guarding, keeping, and protecting the children of God. We’re not dialing 9-1-1 when surrounded by the enemy, hoping the angels of the Lord make it on time. They’re already there, encamped, and awaiting orders. We have fulltime, round-the-clock protection, guardian angels that are always about.

‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’

Whenever you feel outnumbered, whenever you feel discouraged, whenever you feel as though it’s you against the world, just remember those who are with you are more than those who are with the darkness.

It is this knowledge that keeps us from being fearful and flinching in the face of the enemy. It is the knowledge that the hosts of heaven encamp around us and the horses and chariots of fire stand at the ready which compels us to hold the line, press forward, and not give the enemy an inch of ground.

Ultimately, the battle belongs to the Lord. It is only when we lose sight of this universal truth and begin to think we can fight the fight and win the battle on our own that we begin to suffer defeats and setbacks.

Elisha knew he was no match for the Syrian army. He knew in and of himself he could do nothing, but he also knew the God he served and he saw the armies of the Lord dispatched on his behalf.

There was no way for Elisha to explain what he was seeing to his servant. There was no way for Elisha to make his servant understand there was no reason for fear or trepidation, unless the servant’s eyes were likewise opened to the reality of the spiritual all around them.

We can try to explain why we do not fear for tomorrow to friends and family alike, we can try to explain why there is no concern or trepidation in regards to all that’s going on around us, but our explanations will always fall short. It is only when God opens the spiritual eyes of those we pray for that they too will be at peace and at rest.

It would be easy for us to believe only others need their spiritual eyes opened, but oftentimes we ourselves need our spiritual eyes opened as well. Even though we like to think the best of ourselves, and believe wholeheartedly that we’ve reached the pinnacle of spirituality, there are moments in our walk and lives wherein we also need our spiritual eyes to be opened so we might truly see.

Seeing as spiritual insight – or having supernatural perception – is an important aspect of our spiritual walk, what are the ways by which God can open our eyes so we might see the spiritual realm?

The first way we can entreat God to open our spiritual eyes is the selfsame way Elisha entreated God to open his servant’s eyes, by prayer.

If you feel as though you are not seeing all the wondrous things of God, if you feel as though your spiritual eyes are not open or focused, then pray. Ask God to open your eyes, and He will open them.

Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”

Spiritual myopia or spiritual blindness should be unacceptable for us as believers. When we fail to see the hand of God at work, when we fail to see God working and moving on our behalf, our first impulse should be to fall to our knees in prayer so God might open our eyes.

As was the case with the horses and chariots of fire, it’s not that God isn’t working; it’s that we’re not seeing Him working.

The issue is our vision and our ability to see.

When our spiritual eyesight is lacking we will take what God does on our behalf and either claim the glory ourselves, or pass it off as nothing more than chance or happenstance. We will not see the truth of what is there because our perception is skewed and not in tune with the spiritual.

It is when God opens our eyes as he did the eyes of Elisha’s servant that we begin to see just how much God does on our behalf, all the doors He opens, and the opportunities He brings across our path. It is only when we have eyes to see that we see the goodness of the Lord and the wondrous things He does.

A believer whose eyes have been opened is a thankful and grateful believer because they see the presence and power of God in their lives. Because they see the presence and power of God, they learn to trust Him implicitly, even when in the physical things don’t seem to be working, or are going from bad to worse.

Spiritual eyesight, the ability to see the hand of God and the spiritual realm, matures us in the Lord and draws us ever closer to the love, peace, joy and fulfillment only Christ can give.

We see God’s hand upon us, upon our lives, upon our families, upon our provision, and we can’t help but cry out to Him with thankful hearts and humble spirits.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.