February 15, 2025, 2 Kings 8:7-15

February 15, 2025, 2 Kings 8:7-15

⁷ Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” ⁸ the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” ⁹ So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels' loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” ¹⁰ And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.” ¹¹ And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. ¹² And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” ¹³ And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” ¹⁴ Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” ¹⁵ But the next day he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

As I read this passage, it became clear to me that God is much more involved in the lives of government officials than we might think. Today, take time to pray for  our government officials at all levels. God is still in the business of answering prayer.

Debbie Walker