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. 2 Kings 2:9
“I have seen apostolic holiness revived within our church. I will say before the throne of God that I have seen as earnest and as true a godliness as Paul or Peter ever witnessed. I have seen such godly zeal, such holiness, such devotion to the Master’s business as Christ Himself would look upon with joy and satisfaction.
But there are others who never enter heartily into our projects of concern or unite with our gatherings of prayer. To them I say, “My dear brethren, if you are indeed with us, if you have fellowship with us and with the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, I beseech you to ask the Lord to make you more earnest than the most earnest of us have ever been.
If you have been slow either in generosity of your giving or in the earnestness of your pleading, ask the Lord that you may henceforth double your pace and do more in the time that remains for you in this life than anyone might dream possible.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) in The Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life (Lynnwood: Emerald, 1993) 85-86.
Lent begins on 1 March 2017 this year. From that day, Ash Wednesday, there are 40 days (not counting the six feast day Sundays) leading up to Easter on 16 April 2017 (the seventh feast day Sunday). Why mention this?
Lent is the “Spring Training” of life when the Church dedicates time to focus on the core practices of the Sermon on the Mount: almsgiving (“When you give alms…” Matthew 6:2), prayer (“When you pray…” Matthew 6:5), and fasting (“When you give fast…” Matthew 6:16).
In our home, we don’t focus about how bad things are in the world. We ask God to make us part of the solution through our giving, prayers, and fasting. Care to join us? Want to see revival in the church? It starts with you and me.
Father in heaven, pour out a double portion of your Spirit so that we double our pace. Deepen our generosity in giving, our earnestness in prayer, and our humility in fasting this Lent. Help us retrain ourselves so that our lives reflect godly zeal and devotion. In your mercy, hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.