Behind Closed Doors — Week 1
By Mable Manning, Prison Chaplain and Pastor of the Cross Roads Church of God,
Gastonia, North Carolina

In the book of 2 Kings 4:1-7, the Word of God relates to a widow of a son of a prophet who was faced with a very bad situation—no food and no money to pay the debtors.

This woman knew where to turn for help. Not to crises centers, not to food banks, but to someone who could tell her how to get her needs met. She went to a man of God and told him, “Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen (slaves).”

“And Elisha said unto her, ‘What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house?’

“And she said, ‘Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.’

“Then he said, ‘Go borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.’ So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and poured out.

“And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, ‘Bring me yet a vessel.’

“And he said unto her, ‘There is not a vessel more.’ And the oil stayed (ceased).

“Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, ‘Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest’” (emphasis added).

The word of God tells us in Matthew 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Shut in with God in a secret place behind closed doors, is where prayers come up to the throne room of God. The secret place with God is in our hearts. When we have a personal relationship with Him, that’s all it takes to get our needs met. There in the secret place we commune, fellowship and worship with God. It is in the secret place that we can tell Him all about our situation and He won’t spread it. But, praise God, He will do something about our need.

We find this widow woman went straight to the source. When God promises something, He will deliver. He keeps His promises. He is faithful. Behind closed doors, we remind Him of His promises and of His word. God can do anything but fail. All He asked of us is to keep His Word, worship Him in spirit and in truth and keep clean hands and a clean heart. When we call upon Him in the day of trouble, He will hear and deliver us from all of our afflictions.

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