Prosperity Through Prayer
II Kings 4 (asv)
4:1Now 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 Jehovah: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two children to be bondmen. 4:2And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. 4:3Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.4:4And thou shalt go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is full. 4:5So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons; they brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. 4:6And 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. 4:7Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest.
Give your own interpretation of the story of Elisha and the oil.
The story of Elisha and the little pot of oil that at his command and with her co-operation filled all
the vessels in her house and also those of all her neighbors so that she had enough oil to pay all her debts, free her children from bondage, and provide a living for herself and her sons, reveals the working of a mighty law.
Give the metaphysical interpretation of Elisha, the widow, and the oil.
Metaphysically the meaning of the name Elisha is "God is a saviour; God of deliverance; to whom God gives victory; God is rich." The widow typifies a belief in lack, a thought or a line of thought in consciousness that has fallen away from that inner union with the divine source (husband) and as a result is suffering from lack of supply.
Elisha (meaning also "God is rich") showed this woman how to shut the door and realize that her supply came from within. Then he revealed to her how to pour out the oil (love) of plenty, and how it would prove a permanent supply. Any thought is a prayer in which we realize that our desires, God directed, are answered the very moment they are expressed.
Why is praise so beneficial?
Christian metaphysicians find that words that express thanks, gratitude, and praise, release energies of mind and spirit, and their use is usually followed by effects so pronounced that they are quickly identified with the originating words, effect being merged in cause.
Let your words of praise and blessing be to Spirit and the increase will be even greater than it is when they are addressed to man. The resources of Spirit are beyond our highest flights of imagination. You can praise a weak body into strength; a fearful
heart into peace and trust; shattered nerves into poise and power; a failing business into prosperity and success; want and insufficiency into supply and support.
Do not beg in your prayers, but praise and give thanks for the new self-manifesting God of abundance fulfilling every desire of your heart.
Why is daily prayer essential?
Make a "date" daily with God and keep it. He will never fail you. Some persons are overtimid about their religion. They fear ridicule and misunderstanding. A certain banker had established a certain time each day for going into the silence to pray. His bank, which was located in a country town, needed to borrow what it considered a large sum of money, and he was in New York City negotiating for the loan, but without apparent success. However he was strong in the silence and trusted God regardless of appearances. While he was talking the matter of the loan over with the New York City banker his "silence hour" approached, and our country banker was puzzled what to do. He finally decided to be honest with God, and in the midst of the apparently unfavorable discussion in regard to the loan, he quietly announced that he always devoted a few moments to prayer at that hour and begged to be excused.
The face of the city banker at once lighted up. He instantly recognized that this country friend had something that he did not have: he was poised, peaceful, trustful in the face of defeat. So the city banker hesitatingly replied that he also was in the
habit of observing a daily moment of prayer and that he would gladly join him. Then and there they entered the silence together and had a high realization of God's power to supply and to bless. At the conclusion of their prayer session the city banker informed the country banker that he was satisfied that his securities were good and that the loan would be made without delay.
Emerson's inspiration or comment on prayer was
"Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. Prayer is the soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul. It is the Spirit of God pronouncing His works good. But prayer as a means of effecting a private end is theft and meanness. It presupposes dualism and not unity in nature and consciousness. As soon as a man is at one with God he does not beg. He then sees prayer in all action."
Father Almighty! We bow before Thine infinite goodness, and invoke in prayer Thine all-merciful presence of love.
We ask, and as we ask we give thanks that Thy power and presence are here in love and that we are tightly held in Thine all-embracing arms, where our every need is supplied and where we shall ever rest secure from all the buffets of the world.
Open to us the inner chambers of peace and harmony, which divinely belong to us as Thy children.
We come as little children into the sacred and trustful presence of Thy love, knowing full well that only love can draw and hold us in peace and harmony and prosperity.
Every fear falls away as we enter into Thee and Thy glory of love and as we bask in the sunshine of love, Thy love, Thy never-failing love!
