NEED A MIRACLE? Get a New Bowl! Prophetic Acts of Deliverance...

GET A NEW BOWL!

PROPHETIC ACTS OF HEALING AND DELIVERANCE:

By Mary Ann Wray

"The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive. Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’ ” And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken." 2 Kings 2: 19-22

Israel once again was experiencing dearth, death and barrenness. They definitely were in a promised place geographically-Jericho, which they had conquered many years before. However, they had entered into a dry spiritual place where nothing was happening and they were stuck. Clearly, their lives were unproductive. In fact, the water they depended on for life had become polluted: nothing was growing or producing anywhere in their city. They needed God's deliverance. 

As a matter of practice, they knew who to go to for help; the prophet of God-God’s representative. When they approached Elisha, Elijah's successor for help, he immediately gave them prophetic instructions: “Bring me a new bowl.”  Elisha wasn't going to rely on old methods to get the job done or something he had seen Elijah do before.  He relied on the NOW rhema word of the Lord and understood that God’s mercies are NEW every morning (Lamentations 3: 22-23). Elisha learned well by example from his mentor how to tap into God’s NOW power himself and receive a relevant spiritually active word that would produce tangible results. Elisha wasn’t concerned with how things got so bad; he just looked to God for the remedy! The enemy wants to get you to analyze and focus on the “why this happened and why that happened and how did it get so bad?” Never mind that-let God show you if He wants to but focus on the WHO! Jesus is the WHO-the answer to your dearth and dryness!

Next, he took some salt, a symbol of preservation, healing, and truth and told them to put it in the new bowl or cruse. It is important to note that they had to actively participate in this act of deliverance to receive anything from God. It wasn’t going to be entirely the prophet’s doing-they had a significant role in receiving their miracle. Many times when Jesus went about healing and performing miracles, He would give prophetic instructions as well i.e., take up your bed and walk-go show yourself to the priest-go wash in the pool of Siloam (John 5: 8; Mark 1: 44; John 9: 7)! Don’t make yourself an exception to the rule-be willing to do what God says to do as part of your prophetic RX!

The men obeyed the word of the Lord and did exactly what God said to do as an act of their faith. You see, faith without works is dead, but dead works won’t product miracle faith either. We must respond ‘in kind’ to what God tells us to do-not what we “think” we should do! Next, Elisha took the bowl with salt and threw the mix into the corrupted spring while making a prophetic declaration. Streams represent life force. Without living water things deteriorate and will eventually die. Jesus said, “Out of your belly will flow rivers of living water.” We must be careful what comes out of our mouths! It reflects what is in our heart!

Elisha pronounced healing and life over what once was dead and polluted because he acted upon what God said to do. Therefore, his words were alive and powerful (Hebrews 4: 12)! Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set free (John 8: 32)!” The spirit of death that had entered the land was de-activated through God breathed prophetic declarations following acts of obedience. That is important. You can prophesy and declare things to change all you want but unless you are following a particular instruction from the Lord, it won’t produce a thing! Elisha prophesied to the ‘re-processed’ stream of water declaring that it would no longer cause death in the land. Hence, the miracle followed! 

You see beloved, miracles hinge on our obedience to God’s living word. Our acts of obedience must be relative to the NOW rhema word of God which produces faith-not a principle or formula (Romans 10: 17). When you are experiencing death, disease, dearth, or spiritual dryness in any area of your life, and in any measure, God has the answer. However, the key is going to HIM and His written word for counsel. If you pray in faith, putting your trust in God, He will give you a word in due season! In the Old Testament they went to the prophet first. At that time, it was God’s divine order. Now, under the New Covenant, the veil has been rent and we can freely enter the throne room of God by the Blood of THE Lamb to find grace to help in time of need! (Hebrews 4: 16)

What we have to be mindful of is that when we petition God for a miracle, He will ALWAYS provide prophetic instruction. We have to remember that HE is our provider and we must fully expect that He will give us the instruction we need. Be on the lookout for it after you ask, seek and knock. It may come through an inner impression, an idea, a sermon, a message like this, a friend or total stranger may say something to you that witnesses to your spirit, or you may see something that you need to do… but it WILL come. Be mindful that God’s instructions will ALWAYS require an act of faith and obedience on your part!

The enemy will try to snatch that prophetic word out of your heart before you have a chance to act on it, but when you recognize his tactics you will be armed and ready to be on the offense against him. (Mark 4: 1-20-The parable of the seed and sower).

God wants to do something new in your life TODAY. But it will take a new method: His NOW word of truth and supernatural healing. If you approach a dead situation with your own strategy, formula or  former ways of doing things you won't experience His deliverance and healing. Trust God to give you a NOW word, a NEW word, then FOLLOW THROUGH with what he tells you to do. His prophetic RX won’t set right with your flesh because His ways always go against our will, logic or carnal mindsets. But He WILL confirm His word to you enough times (out of the mouth of two or more witnesses) to make it plain upon the tablets of your heart so you can run with the vision and receive your miracle! 

“Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” Habakkuk 2: 2