I told you this section of 2 Kings is miracle-dense. After the story of the oil and the jugs, we have the story of the lady from Shunem and her husband. They built a guest room for Elisha to use when he passed through. (See 2 Kings 4.8 – 11) In return, Elisha promises her a son:

Elisha conferred with [Elisha’s servant] Gehazi: “There’s got to be something we can do for her. But what?” Gehazi said, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is an old man.” “Call her in,” said Elisha. He called her and she stood at the open door. Elisha said to her, “This time next year you’re going to be nursing an infant son.” “O my master, O Holy Man,” she said, “don’t play games with me, teasing me with such fantasies!” The woman conceived. A year later, just as Elisha had said, she had a son. (2 Kings 4.14 – 17, MSG)

But the child died, maybe as a young teenager. So she goes to fetch Elisha who sends Gehazi ahead to “lay the staff across the boys face” without success. (See 2 Kings 4.18 – 31) Then Elisha arrives:

Elisha entered the house and found the boy stretched out on the bed dead. He went into the room and locked the door—just the two of them in the room—and prayed to GOD. He then got into bed with the boy and covered him with his body, mouth on mouth, eyes on eyes, hands on hands. As he was stretched out over him like that, the boy’s body became warm. Elisha got up and paced back and forth in the room. Then he went back and stretched himself upon the boy again. The boy started sneezing—seven times he sneezed!—and opened his eyes. (2 Kings 4.32 – 35, MSG)

As always with Elisha, pray…and do something. In this case, he stretched himself out on the boy.

These stories are told with remarkable reserve. No drum rolls, just “this is what happened.” And just to round out the chapter, two more. In the first, they cooked up a stew for the guild of prophets, but a poisonous plant got into it:

They started to eat, and then exclaimed, “Death in the pot, O man of God! Death in the pot!” Nobody could eat it. Elisha ordered, “Get me some meal.” Then he sprinkled it into the stew pot. “Now serve it up to the men,” he said. They ate it, and it was just fine—nothing wrong with that stew! (2 Kings 4.40 – 41, MSG)

In the second we have a multiplication of loaves similar to what Jesus will do on a larger scale:

One day a man arrived from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God twenty loaves of fresh baked bread from the early harvest, along with a few apples from the orchard. Elisha said, “Pass it around to the people to eat.” His servant said, “For a hundred men? There’s not nearly enough!” Elisha said, “Just go ahead and do it. GOD says there’s plenty.” And sure enough, there was. He passed around what he had—they not only ate, but had leftovers. (2 Kings 4.42 – 44, MSG)

All these miracles! Signs? An attempt to get the attention of the Northern Kingdom? Remember, that’s where Elijah and Elisha ministered, to “Israel,” where all the kings were bad. Not to Judah. And the miracles weren’t for show; God, through Elisha, just met the need at the time.

Need wisdom?

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. (James 1.5, 6, MSG)

Worried?

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4.6, 7, MSG)

So Jesus taught them this prayer: “Our heavenly Father, may the glory of your name be the center on which our life turns. May your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. Manifest your kingdom on earth. And give us our needed bread for the coming day. Forgive our sins as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. And rescue us every time we face tribulations.” (Luke 11.2 – 4, TPT)