Christian Living
Shut Doors and Yielded Spirits
Michael Youssef, Ph.D.
Dec 28, 2018
heaven awaits goaa

NEW! FOR YOUR GIFT OF ANY AMOUNT

Yesterday we looked at the first condition for the widow's jar of oil to become her miracle. Today we will look at two more conditions.

The second condition that Elisha gave this woman is found in his instruction: "Shut the door behind you" (2 Kings 4:4). The door must be shut for God to bless you. Go into your prayer closet and shut the door. Shut the door on anxiety and fear. Shut the door on cynicism and worldliness. Shut the door behind you, whether it is a legitimate or illegitimate disturbance. He wants to give to you more generously than you have ever experienced before, but you must give Him your attention.

When God blesses, He wants to bless to the fullest.

Elisha's third condition for blessing was a yielded spirit. The woman must have thought, "Surely this is just a drop of oil. Surely I shouldn't even mention it. I really have nothing." Nevertheless, the prophet replied, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few" (v. 2). Get your jars. Big jars. Small jars. Do not stop with just a few small ones because God is not a chintzy God. When God blesses, He wants to bless to the fullest.

The only limit to God's blessing is our unbelief, our unwillingness to yield to Him. Because the woman yielded and surrendered, God granted her a miracle.

Prayer: Father, help me to shut the door on anything that is a disturbance to my walk with You. Help me to be totally willing to yield to You and to trust that You have great blessings in store for me. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

"'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it'" (Malachi 3:10).