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Known for her sympathy and servanthood, Mother Teresa once encountered a man with a rare and deadly form of cancer. One of the workers in the hospital had vomited from the smell and could no longer help. When Mother Teresa stepped up to take over, the patient asked, “How can you stand the smell?” To which she replied, “It’s nothing compared to the pain you must feel.” 1 Real ministry begins when we are driven from our comfort zone by the discomfort of others. People don’t care what you know until they know that you care. Mentored by Elisha and filled with his spirit, he willingly displayed sympathy. 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 occurrence 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. Responding to this unusual chain of events, the judge said, “No matter how this

1 Raymond McHenry, The Best of In Other Words (Houston: Raymond McHenry Publisher, 1996), 228.

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