2 Kings 4:18-35
18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.
19 "My head! My head!" he said to his father. His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother."
20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.
21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.
22 She called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return."
23 "Why go to him today?" he asked. "It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath." "It's all right," she said.
24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Lead on; don't slow down for me unless I tell you."
25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, "Look! There's the Shunammite!
26 Run to meet her and ask her, 'Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?'" "Everything is all right," she said.
27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me why."
28 "Did I ask you for a son, my lord?" she said. "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't raise my hopes'?"
29 Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face."
30 But the child's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy has not awakened."
32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.
33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD.
34 Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm.
35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

We see six characters in this part of the scripture. 1. The boy, 2. The Shunammite’s husband, 3. The shunammite woman, 4. Elisha, 5. Gehazi, and 6. God

The Shunammite’s husband : He send the ailing child to his mother along with some servants. He thought it is the mother’s responsibility to take care of the child. He stayed back in his field. This husband assumes spiritual matters like prayer, sacrifices etc are matters pertaining to woman.

The Shunammite woman : She took responsibility for the child who is crying with pain. She went in search of the man of God with a trembling heart, opened up to him what was going on.

Gehazi : A name-sake disciple. He did exactly what his master said, tucked his cloak in to his belt, took his masters staf, ran towards the child and kept the staff on the face of the dead boy. Nothing happened though. He was keen on following the masters commands, but his heart was missing, there was no faith. So there was no miracle.

Elisha : Came into the house, closed the door behind him and he approached the boy. He prayed for the child, with lot of faith and lot of love. Because his heart was completely involved God did a miracle by giving the child its life back from the dead.

When there is faith, love, sincerety and intensity God loves to do miracles.

There are so many children who are dead spiritually, in this world. And God is there, willing to do mighty miracles. Let us have a heart towards the lost and let us pray like Elisha, so that God would save many of those lost souls.

Prayer idea

Pray for great miracles to take place in the church.