2 Kings 4:1 “Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, 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.”
There was a woman. This woman had two sons. Even though she had two sons they are to become slaves. She was afraid and cried to prophet Elisha. What does this tell us? Satan is about to make many of our youths to become slaves of this world. We as parents must see very clearly and understand what they are going through. Because if they are not careful, truly Satan will make them become his slave and go against the older generation. They will go against their parents.
During the NYTS, we stress so much to younger people to obey their parents because we realize the younger people disrespect their parents. They do not honor their parents and the reason of this is because they have fallen slowly to the side of Satan. So we should be just like this mother. Know the situation that's going on with her children. If Satan is about to turn them into slaves, we must pray for them. This woman cried out to Elisha.
In Asian culture we might not want to speak out much especially when our child has weaknesses, because we are afraid to lose face. Might as well lose face then lose your child. Every single one of us are brothers and sisters, so we can share our situation with each other. This woman shared with Elisha, a man of God. Every single one of us in here must be a man or woman of God so when our brothers and sisters have problem with their children, they can come and share with us.
Of course we do not always trust one another. We know sometimes rumor spread very quickly in our church. During RHTS many youth pour out their heart to us. Conclusion is that they have no idea where to go. If they tell their faith then their parents might not be able to communicate with them. If shared with brothers and sisters, they are afraid rumors will spread. God's house should not be like this.
This woman she seemed to have no way to rescue his sons from becoming slaves, but at least she knows that the creditor will make her son to be slaves. Sometimes we as parents we have no idea what's going on with our children. So knowing our children's situation it is the first step. This woman cried out to Elisha, then Elisha said to her in verse 2. “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.”
She said your maid servant have nothing except a jar of oil. Even though she had a jar of oil in her house she said as if it was nothing significant. We know because of the jar of oil she was able to multiply it and sell it also. What does this mean to us? We have the spirit of God. Through the spirit of God we can transform the younger generation. Sometime we do not have the faith. For it seems like for many years we pray for them without much success. Maybe they are still in church because of all the prayers for them.
Do you know the situation in
Sometimes we don't know when God is going to work. Even if the younger generation seems like they are weak now, we can not kick them to the side. We must continue to pray for them, because we have the spirit of God inside of us--the jar of oil. Verse 3 “Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.” At that time Elisha knew what God will do for her. Go and borrow any empty vessels you can get. Not only a few, try to get many.
For us we have so many brothers and sisters, we must gather together just like the mighty army of God to pray for the younger generation. We can see when we pray, God will send blessings to the younger generation. But how many of us take the time to pray for the younger generation? Of course we are sometimes busy praying for everything else already, but we must not neglect the younger generation. Get as many people as we can and pray for children that have problem.
Verse 4. “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.” Shut the door behind you and your sons. Sometimes our children have problems and we pray for them. More importantly, they must pray for themselves. We must be beside them. If we pray for them, then their relationship with God will not come close.
My two nieces came to live with my wife and I. The nieces are not easy going because in Boston they grew up in a very bad neighborhood. Even though they are only 15 years old, they can do whatever they want with their friends. My wife and I say to one another when they came to live with us it will be difficult for them. We prayed about this situation, because one of them has a really bad temper. When she gets mad she just wants to punch everyone around her. When she gets mad her face looks demonic. Another one is very depressed. She always lock herself in the bathroom crying. Of course they miss their parents.
But praise and thank God. My wife and I know we cannot do much for them. My wife works and we have a little nephew too to take care of. My parents are very old already. What can we do for these nieces? Their bedtime used to be anytime. Now their bedtime is 9 pm. They can only spend 1 hour with media (tv, internet). Every single morning we get up at 6 am and pray together as a family. We pray half an hour and study half an hour bible. Because of this my nieces transformed themselves. We cannot take any credit at all, but all credits go to our lord Jesus Christ. They themselves get up and pray to Lord Jesus Christ.
Last month my wife came to
We as human beings are very limited. What we do have, we have the jar of oil and the word from Lord Jesus Christ. When children have problem ask them to pray with us so their heart can touch God himself. 2 King 4:5 “So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out” Pray with them and even force them to come to church. When they get older they will truly thank all of you. They will realize how precious it was when you force them to come to church.
As younger generation, we are of age and do not need others to tell us to come to church. We should be able to do it ourselves already. Just like when we are hungry we eat, thirsty we drink. Just like spiritually we know what we need. Like this woman and two sons. This time her husband had already died. The husband feared the Lord very much. It was hard for this woman by herself, but she had a jar of oil.
Verse 6. “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.” Both the woman and the son saw the miracle in front of them. We must pray with them, pray for them. All the jar were full of oil. The oil from the one jar ceased. She came and told the man of God. What did the man of God tell her? Go sell the oil and pay your debt and you and your son will live on what is left.
Verse 7 “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.”
For us if we can truly pray for the younger generation. They do not need to be under bondage to Satan. They do not need to conform to the things of this world. It's not easy to be a slave to this world for one day they will die. We must take this task very seriously. Through our prayers we can transform the life of this generation. Become strong and take over the church and together can glorify God.