Lessons from the Oil

Throughout the Scriptures, there are many different symbols used to represent the works of God, or even God himself. One of these is the symbolic relationship of oil to the work of the Holy Spirit, especially in the Old Testament. We see it come up a few times, and most obviously when we read how various people were anointed with oil and then the Spirit of the Lord came upon them. That oil foreshadows the same way that the Holy Spirit moves and comes upon the children of God, the pouring of oil symbolizes the way that Holy Spirit is poured out to this day.

I was at a conference last year where Corey Russell first made the connection for me. He said the story of 2 Kings 4 is a story of how we must pray. That the “oil” of prophetic anointing, spiritual gifts, and so on, must be made in the secret place—it’s pressed, it’s refined, and at the end comes out pure and ready for so many different uses.

That word came back to mind recently, so I flipped open 2 Kings 4 and to my surprise found that Corey had just scratched the surface—there was so much more to be learned and understood from the story of Elisha and the widow’s oil. The entire story acts as a beautiful metaphor for the way that prayer should shape us and shape our family.

The widow approached Elisha because she had an urgent request, and similarly there will be plenty of times when we approach the Lord with our own requests, though I do hope that each of us has discovered how much we need to meet with the Lord, whether or not we have requests to bring before him.

Nevertheless I will call the next few points, the “Lessons from the Oil”:

Lesson No. 1 - The Lord Works With What You’ve Got

There have been so many times in my own prayer life when I’ve come before the Lord and I’ve just been honest with him about how little I had to bring him. How little faith I had for the situation. How little patience or love I had for that person. How I was the end of my rope, and how out of sorrow, or grief, or doubt I had nothing left to bring to the Lord except my own knees down on that rug.

That widow had nothing left in her house except a jar of oil. She knew the full extent of her poverty, it had cost her everything. Sometimes I wonder, are we aware of the full extent of our own spiritual poverty? How much we need someone to save us too?

“Your servant has nothing left in the house except a jar of oil,” is what she tells Elisha. But little did she know how God was going to use that little jar of oil to do mighty things.

God doesn’t ask us to bring him anything except the truth. I don’t need to put on a face before the Lord and pretend at how much I have—all he wants from me is my willing obedience to come before him and present to him what I do have, even if it’s a little jar of oil. Some might say, a little mustard seed of faith.

And watch what he can do with that, because he’s ready and willing to work with what you’ve got.

Lesson No. 2 - Come into His Presence Prepared

I don’t know about you, but I have a habit of praying at the Lord but then forget to wait for him to answer back! All too often I get to praying with the immediate thought of what I will do when I get back up again. But what could our prayer lives look like if we actually prepared ourselves to enter into His presence? If we took the time to say, “okay Lord, here I am. I am making time for you, I am preparing myself to hear your word.”

Maybe it looks like I bring along my Bible, my notepad and a pen. Maybe it looks like me purposefully winding down my thoughts, my concerns, shutting down all the distractions around me so that I can get into the proper headspace to meet with my God.

Elisha asked the widow to prepare empty vessels, because he knew the Lord was ready to fill them. Perhaps “preparation” for us nowadays means emptying our own vessels of all that the world tries to fill it with so that we can be ready for Holy Spirit to fill us up instead.

These distractions are the distractions of the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Or these distractions could be the mundane busyness of life itself. Satan likes to keep us busy—he’s a great thief of our time in this day and age, and every day we make willing choices to hand that time over.

Lesson No. 3 - Phone a Friend

I can’t overemphasize enough the importance of community in the Christian walk. Elisha’s widow had nothing left in her house, but she was able to lean on a faithful community and support network around her to help supply her needs. Her neighbors played a role in answering her prayers too.

This can look so different in so many ways, but it’s an encouragement for all of us to consider how we could be someone’s answered prayer this week. Does that man need a word of encouragement? Does that mom need some groceries dropped off at the door? These are things we can prayerfully consider, especially in this holiday season.

But more importantly, I want to speak about the power of prayer in community. The last two weeks I’ve benefitted from the intercessions of so many friends, and likewise I've come before the Lord in prayer on behalf of others. It is an honor to be on the receiving end of those prayers, and likewise to bless others with my own too.

Lesson No. 4 - The Secret Place is Private

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt. 6:6, ESV).

Jesus himself tells us exactly how we should pray. Our prayers can be communal, but the deepest moments of connection between ourselves and God must be done in private. Elisha tells the widow to prepare herself, to seek the help of her neighbors, but then to go back to her home and shut the door behind herself.

It’s in the secret place that our deepest desires get laid out in front of the Lord. Where all pretense falls away, “and no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Heb. 4:13)

Lesson No. 5 - Leave a Legacy for your Children

Elisha tells the widow to go into her home and shut the door, but he tells her to take her sons with her to help with the pouring of the oil. I think the allegory in this is that parents must model prayer in their home to their children too. We are called to be salt and light at home just as much as we appear to be that out the home. Our first mission field is in the home, and how beautiful is it to model that to future generations.

I remember my friend Emily once talking about her grandmother who is a prayer warrior for the family. She intercedes before the Lord for each one of her children and grandchildren, and the Lord talks about the family and tells her what’s going on. It’s a mantle that I know my friend will pick up in her own time, and carry forward, generation after generation.

There’s nothing more powerful that a mother or father can do than to show their children how they live out a life of faith, and a life of prayer behind closed doors. The memories that your children will pass along will be the memories of how you lived faithfully and sincerely. Not as a hypocrite, but as a human with bumps and bruises, who makes mistakes and perhaps even falls, but is quick to go to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness. Leave that legacy for your children.

Lesson No. 6 - Sometimes You’re the Answer to Your Own Prayers

The thing that really stands out to me in this story is how easily God could have had Elisha whip out a gold coin that would instantly pay all her debts and solve all her problems. We see Jesus doing that when he and Peter had to pay their taxes!

I have plenty of problems that I know the Lord could answer in an instant, but instead I see him walk me through those problems instead. “Lord, let me win the lottery! Lord, let me lose 10 pounds by Christmas!” But maybe he wants to teach me financial stewardship, what faithful budgeting can lead to in the long run. Maybe he wants to teach me discipline, what exercising and eating healthy does for my psyche and overall wellbeing.

There are lessons to be learned in the “doing”, and the widow and her sons poured out in faith. With their own eyes they saw the Lord answer their prayers through each faithful act of tipping that little jar of oil over, of filling each earthen vessel, of rolling it carefully away and bringing over a new one, and even afterwards in bringing them to the marketplace to sell.

Imagine those boys carrying the jars all the way to the market. What pride there must have been in them as they carried them over, what marvel and awe and excitement—and relief! This was going to be a testimony that would be shared throughout the generations.

Lesson No. 7 - Keep Pouring until He says Stop

“When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing.” 2 Kings 4:6, ESV

There are two important things to take note here. First, the widow was able to pour out the oil because the vessels were empty and ready. Second, she kept pouring until there was nothing else left to be filled.

There are moments in prayer where I feel that the Spirit of the Lord is present with me—those are moments where I need to continue to sit with him. I’m not dismissed until he says I’m dismissed, because he’s there ready to pour and he will pour as long as I’m willing to receive.

I confess that too often I’m satisfied with the quick drive-through prayers. Because he’s always gracious, he does what he can with them, but how much more of my vessel needs time to be emptied, to prepare itself, and then sit patiently and wait for the Lord to do the filling?

Lesson No. 8 - God Will Answer. And He Answers Abundantly.

I imagine that the widow took in a sharp breath of faith when she tipped over that jar of oil for the first time. It was a small act of faith. But it paid in dividends.

My dear reader, take heart. Have faith.

It doesn’t have to be a mountain of faith. Just one small act of faith will do.

Perhaps a phone number you dial in faith, perhaps a resume you send out in faith, I don’t know but whatever it is, tip over your own little jar in faith.

Not only did God fill the vessels to pay the debt the widow owed to the creditor, but he filled them to abundance, so much so that she and her sons were able to live off the rest. Our God is an abundant God. He is not stingy with his blessings, and he is not stingy in answering our prayers either.

So have faith today, my friend, and take to heart the lessons from the oil.