(from You Version)
I have to admit that one thing that slows down my eagerness to pray is fear. I am afraid of being disappointed. Prayer, real prayer, honest prayer, involves opening up your heart, baring your feelings, taking a risk, exposing your tender side instead of the hardened armor we usually present to the world.
The prophet Elisha’s intercession once brought a long-hoped-for son to an older woman. It was ecstasy to her soul; she had wanted so, so badly to be a mother. Then the boy grew sick and died in her arms. Mute with shock at first, she finally burst out in bitter distress, in “I knew it!” soul pain: “Did I ask you for a son? . . . Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?” (2 Kings 4:28). It was Elisha’s great privilege to channel God’s life-giving power back into the boy, and he joyfully restored the boy to his mother.
But I know her fear, and you probably do too. Sometimes we may hesitate to ask God for something we desperately want or need because we assume we will be turned down.
Elisha’s wonderful ministry helps us to trust that God always gets the last word, and his last word is always one of blessing, kindness, and victory. You don’t have to be afraid to open your heart. Even if he lets you experience pain, the pain becomes the path to even greater joy.
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