...What do you say? and to whom?...

And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”
So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.”
So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.”
And she said, “It is well.”
2 Kings 4:19-23 (NKJV)

...While i was praying this morning, the HS opened my eyes to another aspect of speech. (I must be in dire need of refining my speech as this seems to be all HE speaks to me about these days :)) I thought i should share.

It is important who we speak to and what we say. The Bible has made it clear that eventually, our lives take the pattern of our speech. My text is a very widely read and known story of the "childless" woman who continually housed Elisha until he prayed to God for a son for her. A brief background on the life of this woman will illustrate the points i intend to drive, better:

...Lady B was very wealthy. Beautiful. Comfortable and highly influential. She had everything women in her time desired (or at least almost everything). She was the only female member of the "Elite Club" and was well respected in the gates. She stood up tall and seemed not to have a care in the world. But late at night, she would cry to God for a child. She had gone on this way for years and now, Sir B was almost 85 - she gave up all hope for a child and decided that God had blessed her in other ways and probably did not want her to have a child. She was very God fearing (obviously.) In comes the spooky prophet who always dressed strangely. Lady B was intuitive. She knew immediately that he was no ordinary man and catered for his needs. He in turn, blessed her. He petitioned God for a child for her and after over 40 years of waiting, Lady B, as God had promised, bore a son... (I'm sorry, fiction is not one of my strengths but i guess we all get the picture...:))

A few years later, possibly 5 or 6 years, this precious child of Lady B dies suddenly after a possible attack of Malaria (well, what else could i call it? he had a headache, a bit of a temperature and i am a Nigerian...). And that is where the Holy Spirit began speaking.

At the point of the Child's death, Lady B was the only person who knew. She held her son in her hands till he died. Her only son. The son she had waited over 40 years to have.

The Bible records that she went quietly and laid the Child on the bed of the Prophet. She did not scream. She did not wail. She was quiet.

Now, in the Bible, there is no stronger relationship described or defined than the relationship of marriage. According to scripture, the two (who are married) become one flesh. This concept of marriage was stronger in the time of Lady B than it is in our time YET Lady B said not a word about the death of her son to the father of that same son.

When asked as to why she had to visit the Prophet at a strange hour, she replied - "It is well!".

She obviously had confidence in something no one else would have seen. The story did not end there. She saddled her donkey and asked her servants to ride as fast as they could -

She went ahead and saddled the donkey, ordering her servant, "Take the lead—and go as fast as you can; I'll tell you if you're going too fast." And so off she went. She came to the Holy Man at Mount Carmel. 2 Kings: 4:24-25 (The message)

The story still did not end there. The spooky prophet saw her from afar and sent his servant (His PA) to meet her and ask what was up. She replied in the same way she responded to her husband - "It is well!"

Eventually, she gets to meet the spooky prophet personally. She opens up and tells him that her son is dead. She cries for the first time since the boy died and insists that the spooky prophet (and not his grouchy PA) follows her down to her house.

The Holy Spirit opened my eyes to a few things.

If Lady B had not insisted on responding with her "It is well" mantra, her son would never have come back to life. Once she had told her husband the reason for her reverting to the prophet, he would have given a 1001 logical reasons on why they should have burried their son immediately.

Many times we whine and complain about dead (or dying situations) to the wrong people! Lady B waited until she met with the very representative of God. We too ought to wait!

When faced with overwhelming challenges, there are steps to be followed:

1. Lay the dead child on the bed of the man of God - In our case, it may be a failed marriage, a threath of job loss, a dying parent, a recalcitrant child, a dying relationship, loneliness, depression, financial incapacitation, you name it. All you need to do, is lay this situation on the ALTAR of God through prayer.

2. Reply "It is well" - Do not talk about the problem with just anyone. Rather, talk about the solution. Reply that your job is secure in Christ. That your marriage is filled with the peace of God. That your promotion on that job is sure. That you are filled with the joy of the Lord. That you are blessed financially! Tell the world the opposite of what you are experiencing! Reply "It is well".

3.Saddle your horse and speed to the prohet - Everyone needs someone to speak to. Saddle your horse and speed to the Church. You could speak to your spiritual father or mother. A mentor installed in your life by God, a prayer partner or a prayer leader. Have someone you are accountable to in Christ. You may speak to such a person. This mentor must be a person of prayer and the word of God and should be chosen by God himself!

Bottom line, speak the things you want to see.
It will be only a matter of time and dead things will come back to life!
Remember, the question is what are you saying? And to whom?

I love you.