Most people have probably not paid too much attention to the story in 2 Kings chapter 6 where the prophet Elisha threw a stick into the river and an axhead floated to the surface of the water. The simple logistics being that a young seminary student, losing the ax in the river, was very distressed because it was borrowed and sought help from the prophet who sought help from God. God then simply and divinely transcended His laws of gravity and physics and graciously answered the prayer. Without much fanfare or hoopla, the axhead rose to the surface of the water.
That story got my attention. It penetrated my heart and soul and spirit. That is why when I was a young, naive, and a very on-fire-for-God Christian, I had no problem believing any of these scriptures. I prayed for the sick and they recovered. That was not very radical and quite respectable and even accepted that God would and could heal the sick. But the trouble arose when I began to pray for things such as my busted washing machine. I had three teenagers, and after three weeks the blue jeans were meeting me at the front door. The electrician couldn’t repair it so my only recourse was to turn to God for help. My most incredulous prayer was over a broken down car whose engine required $2,900 in repairs. Since my total net worth amounted to a little more than zilch, guess what I did instead. Yup, I really did. Just like a little kid, who brings her broken toy to her dad to fix, it never even crossed my mind that my Heavenly Father couldn’t or wouldn’t help.
Now I don’t have to tell you that some older, more ‘mature’ saints of God look at you like all your ducks are not in a row. They insist that God is too sanctimonious to bother with such temporal issues. They suggested that my feet needed to be firmly planted on the ground. The fact that God did fix these things was of no consequence. So naturally, over the years, wishing to show progression towards spiritual maturity, I slowly and gradually began my descent towards earth. I came to the place where it never even occurred to me to pray these absurdities.
But, thank God, I turned to His Word, rather than the opinions of men and He rekindled the fire that ignited my faith again. I followed God’s advice and mounted up on wings as an eagle and began to soar. I discovered that those magnificent birds had continual opposition from crows which attack and peck at their feet as they fly. That eagle just spreads it’s wings and soars to an altitude that those crows can’t reach. So each year I soar higher and higher. I refuse to cruise where the crows can mess up my faith!
So, three weeks ago when my watch broke, I naturally asked God to fix it and then set the hands at the right time. A few hours later I looked at the time and the hands hadn’t moved. I prayed again. Nothing happened. The next day I prayed again reminding God that the money spent to fix this watch could be given to a good cause. Why should I spend money on repairs or on buying a new watch when I already had a watch and a God that was able to make it run. Hoping He saw my logic, I set it at 4:00 o’clock. This continued for days until I finally decided I should be realistic and just go and get a new battery. The jeweler installed it at no charge. I checked the time a few hours later and was more than surprised to find that the hands had not moved. This watch was definitely broken.
Again, I petitioned God, only now I was really serious. I remembered the acronym P.U.S.H. Pray Until Something Happens. I was not going to be deterred. I was going to pray and not stop until it was fixed. Just as simple as that because I am convinced that God honors faith, especially childlike faith that does not doubt or question or predeter- mine that something is impossible. If faith moves the hands of God, I certainly had enough to move the hands of this watch. I could not accept the fact that I had prayed so fervently for 14 days and that my watch was still stopped. I placed my hand over it and said, "Dear Lord, I stand on your Word that says that You shall supply all of my needs and dear Lord, I need to know what time it is!" That happened over a week ago and my watch has not missed one second since. My faith has gone into orbit! . For those that don’t believe it, I say, ‘That’s why it happens to me and not to you!" Because I do believe. I believe in the God that makes axheads float; therefor I know He can heal your body, restore your marriage and mend your broken heart. But, you need to: Pray Until Something Happens.
Copyright Donna Martonfi www.psalm40ministries.com
Print