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Supplicating- Defined as “asking humbly and earnestly” for something, supplication is just a fancy word for prayer. David writes, “The Lord has heard my supplication,The Lord receives my prayer. To you, O Lord, I called,And to the Lord I made supplication. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;And give head to the voice of my supplications!” (Psalm 6:9, 30:8, 86:6). With the boy in the house lying dead on the couch, as reported in the last chapter, Elisha went in, shut the door to the room, and interceded for the boy.While it was the repeated occur rence of miracles that caught the attention of the people, it was the steady outpouring of prayer that undergirded the work. A tavern was being built in a town that had previously been dry. In an effort of opposition, a group of Christians held an all night prayer meeting, asking God to intervene. During that time, lightning struck the tavern and burned it down.The owner of the tavern held the church responsible and brought a lawsuit against it. The Christians hired a lawyer and denied responsibility. Respond ing to this unusual chain of events, the judge said, “No matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear,The tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not.” 2 Graham Scroggie said, “Pray when you feel like it. Pray when you don’t feel like it. Pray until you feel like it.” It’s also been said, “When it’s hardest to pray, pray hardest.” I’m sure it was hard at times for Elisha to pray.Yet it didn’t stop him from doing so. Submissive- Note the bodily humility involved in the proph et’s intercession for the young lad. In a manner similar to the way his mentor Elijah handled the poor widow of Zarephath’s son, “He got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands.As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more (2 Kings 4:35).This seems quite awkward, especially in our culture in this day and age.Yet,

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