“Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not.”
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.” 2 Kings 2:8-14, NIV.
In this article I want to examine the moment when Elisha became the prophet that he was destined to become. There were three key ingredients that led to this moment. Without these three things Elisha would not have become the man of God that he was. These ingredients are crucial to you as well if you are going to move in the anointing and calling that the Lord has for you. These three ingredients are (1)request, (2)receive, and (3)respond. Today we are going to look at the first ingredient.
The first thing that Elisha did was to make a request of his master, Elijah. In 2 Kings 2:9 Elijah asked Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” And Elisha replied, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.” This question from Elijah was not something that had caught Elisha by surprise. According to the scripture, Elisha answered immediately. He did not say, “Well, let’s see. I’ve never really thought about it. Give me a week to pray about it and then I’ll tell you what I want.” No, Elisha had been thinking about this for a while, and he was waiting for the right moment to put in his request.
What, exactly, was Elisha asking by asking for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit? I can tell you that he was not making a covetous statement, nor was he asking to be twice as good as his master. For the ancient Jewish family it was customary for a father to bless the eldest son with a double portion blessing. (Deut. 21:15-17) It was also that son’s responsibility to carry on the family name and business. Elisha was asking to be the one to carry on Elijah’s ministry. He was asking Elijah to regard him as a first-born son. He knew that there were other prophets that Elijah had trained, and any one of them could have carried on the ministry, but Elisha was so dedicated to his master that he wanted to be Elijah’s successor. I believe he was also saying, “Elijah, you are so anointed that in order for me to be half the prophet you are, I need twice the anointing.”
The question we must now ask is, “Why did Elisha have to make that request? Wasn’t he already called to be Elijah’s successor?” Yes, he was. In 1 Kings 19:19 Elijah threw his cloak around Elisha signifying that he was to carry on the ministry someday. However, Elijah was not going to force the job on him. He taught and trained him for the position, but there had to come a time when Elisha had to speak up and say, “Master, I want to carry on your ministry. I want your anointing.” Elisha was given several opportunities to back out of the deal, but he continued to stay with his master. Elijah now knew that he could leave his ministry in good hands.
How does this apply to us today? The fact is that we have all been called to carry on the ministry of Jesus. We have all been given gifts, talents, and abilities to do the work that God wants us to do. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has made plans for us. However, just because we have been given abilities and just because God has created us for a purpose does not automatically mean we will become what God has planned. There has to come a time when we physically surrender to the call on our lives and say, “Okay, God, I am ready to be who you’ve created me to be. I want to be your voice in this world.” At that moment God will start moving our life in a direction to fulfill that call.
Have you discovered God’s plan for your life? If so, are you moving towards that plan or away from it? Have you fled at the first open door out, or have you waded through the muddy waters and the pain just to be closer to Him? If you are ready to move into that call it’s time to speak up and make your request known to God. Ask Him today for the anointing that is necessary to carry on the ministry of Jesus in the world today.
