Scripture: For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land. 1 Kings 17:14
Devotion: As children, we are taught to stay within our boundaries and not to color outside the lines. Most comply but there is always the one that no matter what you do is sure to defy the system to create a limitless creation. Oftentimes, we treat God the same. We submit our prayer request and then tell God not to color outside the lines. We create controlled scenarios that are acceptable to our humanist thinking which stifle answered prayers.
Jesus is creative, and unconventional. He spoke through parables and never conformed to the ways of man. But we, modern day Christians, seem to have placed this diadem of wonder into a box. There’s just one problem, Jesus cannot be boxed. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, we are the ones that are confined. Our inability to see beyond our natural world limits our ability to receive answers to certain prayers. The answer was released a long time ago and is caught in transit waiting for us to align.
This reminds me of the story of Elijah in 2 Kings 7:16. There is a drought in the land and the brook that was once his supply dried up. God tells Elijah to go to a region where he would find a widow that would supply him with food. Elijah arrives and asks for water and bread. She informs him she only has enough for herself and her son and once they partake of it, death is inevitable. Two things stand out to me. Elijah could have had a one-on-one with God saying, “Now why did you bring me to a place where there is nothing.” He could have painted a picture in his mind of a place full of supply and would have been disappointed upon arrival. But instead, he listens for the instructions of the Lord and tells the woman to feed him first. When we have limited thinking, we may think, “The nerve of him. He should have sacrificed for her and believed God to provide for him another way” Others of us would have questioned if we really heard God and went on an individual spiral of self guilt.
Secondly, notice when he asked for water and she went to get it. It wasn’t until he asked for what she considered her last meal that she shared her situation. She informs him that she only has enough for her and her son. He proceeds to tell her to bake him a cake first, then to make one for her and her son. Many of us would have kindly told him no, and missed the manifestation of the provision. I can just hear some of us. “Who does he think he is? He’s a grown man and I’m sure he can figure it out.” Instead, she trusts the prophet and does just as he says. He tells her not to be afraid, surely you will not run out until it rains again and it was so. This was a supernatural occurrence. He did not give her money to go to the local grocery store to purchase an oversized bag of flour and a container of oil. No, her once almost empty jars of supply simply continued to produce. Supernaturally they never ran dry.
We live in uncertain times and just like the widow woman we must learn to abandon limited thinking and make room for creative manifestations as answers to our prayers. We must learn that God only colors outside the lines.
Reflection: Are there areas where you feel God has not answered your prayers? Have you considered you may have limited, humanist thinking that blocks your vision? Remember, God is creative and only produces answers to prayer his way, and in his timing. We must let go of comfortable boundaries and expect God to do the unthinkable.
Prayer: Lord shift our thinking. Help us to not limit the manifestations of prayer because of our inability to conceive them occurring outside of our thinking. Help us to believe in miracles, signs and wonders. May we see you hand move on our behalf in unprecedented ways. Show us your glory.
Written by Petrina Milan
Eyes of an Overcomer 
Help us to believe in the manifestations of prayer and not limit ourselves because of our inability to conceive…a great prayer. Thank you!
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Amen!
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