The sixth chapter of 2 Kings records some of the exploits of Elisha, the prophet of God. At this particular time, Israel was at war with Syria. Whenever the Syrians would go out and set an ambush, the word of knowledge would work in Elisha’s life, and he would inform the king of Israel about Syria’s plans. Time after time, Israel’s troops avoided the ambushes.
This happened so often and so regularly that the king of Syria said, “We must have a fink in our ranks. Some spy is giving away our military secrets.”
One of the soldiers said, “Oh, no, king, that is not the problem at all. There is a prophet over there in Israel, and he knows everything…even what is going on in your bedchamber.”
And the king said, “Send some spies to find out where this prophet is.”
When the spies returned, they told the Syrian king that Elisha was in Dothan.
Then the king said, “Get the troops and chariots together. We’re going to go over and lay siege against this city. We’re going to put a stop to this leak in our communications.”
So they went over that night and surrounded the entire city.
Early in the morning, Elisha’s servant went out to draw water, as was his custom, but this time his eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets. Everywhere he looked he saw Syrian troops.
He dropped his bucket and ran back to the house. “Alas, my master, what shall we do? The army of the Syrians has us surrounded! What shall we do?”
Elisha said, “Come and show me what you are talking about.”
They went outside, and the servant said, “Look! Everywhere you can see there are Syrian troops waiting for us.”
“Oh,” said the prophet.
“Oh?” said the servant. “Man, we’re about to die, and all you can say is ‘Oh’?”
Elisha said, “Fear not, for those who are with us are greater than those who are with them.”
“Open His Eyes”
The servant looked at the thousands of Syrian troops, then at the two of them and then back at the troops and chariots. He thought, “The prophet has really lost it this time. He can’t see, or else he can’t count.”
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see (2 Kings 6:17).
Wait a minute. What kind of nonsensical prayer is this? The prophet is saying, “Lord, open his eyes,” when the servant’s eyes were already wide open. That is what had scared the poor dude so much.
But the prophet was not talking about the servant’s physical eyes. He was talking about the eyes of the spirit – the eyes that see beyond what the physical eyes can perceive.
So the Lord opened the spiritual eyes of the young man, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha (v. 17).
Everything Elisha needed was already in the spiritual realm. Even when the servant could not see the horses and chariots of fire, they were still already there. The spirit world is more real than the physical world. The physical world is only a shadow of that real world – the realm of the Spirit of God.
Whether you see it or not, and whether you feel it or not, everything you need that is consistent with a godly life is already in the spirit realm. You have to speak it from the spirit realm into this three-dimensional physical world. If it is consistent with a godly life, you can have it.
You initiate it by your faith, and that takes effort and determination. Some people want God to pour it out on them without any effort on their part. But 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, we walk by faith. It does not say, “God pushes.” It says, “We walk.”
You can walk above the circumstances of life. That is walking by the Word and not by the senses. That is casting all your cares on God and taking Him at His Word. That is bringing the supernatural realm in to the natural realm.
by Frederick K.C. Price, Ph.D.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith One Publishing
Dr. Frederick K. C. Price received an honorary diploma from the Rhema Bible Training Center in 1976 and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree from Oral Roberts University in 1982; both institutions are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Dr. Price met the former Betty Ruth Scott while attending Dorsey High School. They were married in March 1953 and have four children - Angela Marie Evans, Cheryl Ann Crabbe, Stephanie Pauline Buchanan, and Frederick Kenneth Price.
While Dr. Price was pastoring for the Christian and Missionary Alliance at West Washington Community Church, he read Kathryn Kuhlman's book, "God Can Do It Again." On February 28, 1970, he received the gift of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of "speaking with other tongues." That is the event that Dr. Price considers the jumping-off point in his ministry.
Dr. Price was also influenced by several books and tapes by Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dr. Price adds, "It was during this time that Betty and I began to take the first steps to walk by faith, which has brought us to where we are today."
In 1973 Dr. Price and 300 parishioners moved from West Washington to establish Crenshaw Christian Center (CCC) in Inglewood, CA. In 1984 CCC outgrew its Inglewood facility and purchased the former Pepperdine University Los Angeles campus. CCC is now the home of the FaithDome, with over 10,000 seats, its one of the largest church sanctuaries in the United States.
Dr. Price is the author of some 50 books on faith, healing, prosperity, and the Holy Spirit. "How Faith Works" is a classic book on the operation of faith and its life-changing principles.