THE PROPHETIC MANDATE: A CLARION CALL (THRONES PT. 10)

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, “Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy? I can see that he’s just trying to pick a fight with me.” 2 Kings 5:7 NLT

God is alive and able to do signs and wonders, that is for sure. God can do for more than we can ever ask or imagine, that we believe. But why is he not doing it? That is where the problem begins. Why do we hear so much of what he did, or read about them, but do not experience them in our lives and situations? Why do we hardly ever see real time divine interventions in our lives and situations? This is the burden of my writing today.

Naaman had a bodily ailment – he was leprous. Though a general, winning many battles, he was leprous. With his kind of money and influence, he must have sought solutions all to no avail. It took a young Israelite slave girl in his house to show him a way out of his problem – the prophet in Israel. “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria,” she remarked, “he would heal him of his leprosy.” With that statement, Naaman went on his pilgrimage to Israel, by the introduction of the king, seeking healing for his leprous condition. The letter to the king of Israel said: “With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.”

When the king saw the letter, he gave an epic reply – “Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy?” His remark was typical of what anyone of us would have said given that situation. It is normal for us to remark that we can only pray, but that it is God that heals. That is true, but to a large extent, that could mean failing to take responsibility. The amount of God’s power in any generation is limited, not by the amount of power which he is willing to express to that generation, but by the quality and quantity of vessels available to him for the transmission of his power. This is the role of the prophets in those days and now.

A prophet is one through whom God transmits his power. I am not speaking now of those who sit in the office of a prophet, but the prophetic mandate in a generic sense. We seek for a people who will indeed represent God on this earth, and this cause the power of God to be felt again in our generation. As I meditate on this, I see myself sincerely appreciating God for men and women in our world today who has made themselves available for God to use. This is the need in our world today – not for the power of God, but for men that will transmit that power.

The king cried that he was not God, but the problem was that he was not a vessel through which God would transmit his power. When the prophet Elisha heard of the issue, he simply sent a messenger to the king of Israel with this request, “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.” Such was the confidence of the prophet. He was not shaky or worried. He simply knew that he could handle Naaman’s issue. He knew he was not God, but he knew he could transmit God’s power to Naaman.

Cutting the long story short, through the power of God and obedience to the prophet’s instructions, Naaman obtained his healing. He was totally made whole! No doubts, no explanations, no second thoughts. He was made whole. So grateful was he that he offered his gifts to Elisha, which the prophet rejected.

So, this is a clarion call. We seek for a people who will make themselves available to be used by God as vessels for the transmission of His power. The Lord’s hand is not short, neither is his power unavailable, but the challenge is for the prophets – for vessels that will transmit his power to this generation. May you be one of them. Amen.