2 Kings 2:6-10: a reflection

6Elijah said to him, “Please wait here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” He said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” Then they both went on. 7Fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance; and they both stood by the Jordan. 8Elijah took his mantle, and rolled it up, and struck the waters; and they were divided here and there, so that they both went over on dry ground. 9When they had gone over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be on me.” 10He said, “You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it will be so for you; but if not, it will not be so.”

As the time approaches for Elijah to be taken up, the prophet offers his servant Elisha a parting gift: Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you. Elisha could have asked for anything, wealth, comfort, honor. Instead he asks for something spiritual and bold: Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. He wants, above all, a greater measure of the Spirit that had rested on Elijah, that he might carry on the prophetic work. Elijah calls it a hard thing to ask, but grants that if Elisha sees him taken, it will be given.

Notice what Elisha longed for: not earthly things, but more of God's Spirit, a greater capacity to serve God faithfully. Given the chance to ask for anything, his deepest desire was spiritual, to be more filled and equipped by God's Spirit for the work ahead. It was a bold, holy ambition, a hunger not for himself but for more of God and greater usefulness in his service.

That is an ambition worth sharing. Offered our heart's desire, many of us would reach first for comfort, wealth, or honor. Elisha reached for more of God's Spirit. There is a holy ambition, not for our own advancement, but for a greater measure of God's Spirit, a deeper filling, a greater capacity to serve him faithfully. Do not be content with a small measure of God when you could hunger for more. Ask God boldly, as Elisha did, for more of his Spirit, a greater capacity to know him and to serve him. It is a good and holy thing to want more of God; ask him for it.

Lord, offered anything by Elijah, Elisha asked for a double portion of his spirit, longing above all for a greater measure of your Spirit to serve you faithfully. Give me that holy ambition. When I might reach first for comfort, wealth, or honor, teach me to hunger instead for more of you, a greater capacity to know you and to serve you well. Keep me from being content with a small measure of your Spirit when I could ask for more. Fill me more deeply, equip me more fully, and give me a heart that longs, as Elisha longed, not for my own advancement but for more of you. It is good to want more of you; help me ask boldly for it.