Back to 2 Kings, the second half of chapter 13 records the death of Elisha and includes, I think, poignant instruction on prayer.

Jehoash, King of Israel, visits Elisha on his death bed:

Elisha told him, “Go and get a bow and some arrows.” The king brought him the bow and arrows. Then he told the king, “Put your hand on the bow.” He put his hand on the bow. Then Elisha put his hand over the hand of the king. Elisha said, “Now open the east window.” He opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” And he shot. “The arrow of GOD’s salvation!” exclaimed Elisha. “The arrow of deliverance from Aram! You will do battle against Aram until there’s nothing left of it.”

“Now pick up the other arrows,” said Elisha. He picked them up. Then he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.” The king struck the ground three times and then quit. The Holy Man became angry with him: “Why didn’t you hit the ground five or six times? Then you would beat Aram until he was finished. As it is, you’ll defeat him three times only.” (2 Kings 13.15 – 19, MSG)

A picture of prayer? The arrow of GOD’s salvation! The arrow of deliverance! But the king needed to strike more than three times. Do we often not persist long enough? Do we not defeat the enemy enough? He always comes back. For example, as we wrote a few weeks ago:

The commandos poured out of the city with the full army behind them. They hit hard in hand-to-hand combat. The Arameans scattered from the field, with Israel hard on their heels. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram got away on horseback, along with his cavalry. The king of Israel cut down both horses and chariots—an enormous defeat for Aram.

Sometime later the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “On the alert now—build up your army, assess your capabilities, and see what has to be done. Before the year is out, the king of Aram will be back in force.” (1 Kings 20.19 – 22, MSG, emphasis mine)

Back to Elisha…Maybe the king didn’t strike the arrows more than three times because he saw hitting the ground with arrows as a pointless exercise. Maybe we don’t pray persistently because praying appears pointless. But God’s Word is clear:

…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. (Ephesians 6.18, ESV)

Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you… (1 Samuel 12.23, ESV)

We’ll get to the death of Elisha tomorrow.