Open your eyes

2 Ki 6:15-20 - When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria. As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

This is one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible. Elisha saw what the young man didn’t which was a mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. For the fear to be removed, Elisha first needed to pray. This is a great reminder. For our eyes to be open to the reality of the situation, we first need to pray. Prayer gives peace and comfort and power and joy. Elisha prayed for the servant to have his eyes open to see the spiritual reality of the situation. What a great prayer. If only we would pray that every time we feared, so that we could see God’s hand and His power present in a situation. The other prayer was to shut the eyes of the enemies. And then, in an amazing display he walked them a long distance to Samaria. May this be a reminder to us that when we are afraid, we ask that God would open our eyes and close the eyes of the enemy?

Do not Fear

Dt 10:21 - He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.

Just as the servant had his eyes opened, we too have seen God perform great and awesome deeds. May we remember often and make Him our praise. Is He our praise today? May your prayer be today that He would open your eyes to see the great and awesome wonders He is performing daily in your midst to both remove fear and cause you to fear Him only.