Elijah gave birth to revival legacy in Elisha, and it was seen through the various miracles worked in the ministry of Elisha, one of which being in 2 Kings 4. In reading this miracle, we uncover five crucial subjects needed to discuss in order to dive into the legacy of revival:

In 2 Kings 4, the prophet Elisha would come across a very noble, wealthy woman in Shunem. Out of the goodness of her heart, she asked her husband to build a chamber to the house, which typically was built as an upper room in Eastern houses, so he would eat with them and stay when coming to town. Elisha told Gehazi, his servant, to go ask to see what they would need, but she wanted absolutely nothing in return for her hospitality. However, Gehazi made Elisha aware that she did not have a child. He called for her, and when she came, he said, “About this season, according to the time of life, you will embrace a son” (v. 16). She told him to not lie to her, but the promise was fulfilled at the appointed time. 

If you want the glory and favor of the LORD to rest upon your life, you must honor and respect His Word. You submit to His calling upon your life, knowing this life is not your own but belongs to Him. The moment you surrendered to Him is the moment you gave Him everything, including dominion and authority. You arrange yourself under His authority, and, in turn, walk in His authority on the earth. It is about loving each other as a kingdom family, setting aside any divisive idea and critical opinion to pursue the will and Word of God. Out of your kindness and love for His presence, you make room for Him to reside. 

2) An unexpected death to a promise. 

A day would come when the Shunnamite woman’s child died. When he was grown he came to one of the harvesters, complaining about his head. They carried him to his mother, where she would hold him in her lap until he died. She would take him to the bed of the prophet and lay him down, shut the door and leave him there. It was an unexpected death to a promise, but she refused to give up hope! 

When she originally received this promise, she did not expect this day would come. No doubt while carrying this baby, she was shocked and excited to what was coming. Everything about being pregnant naturally correlates with that in the spirit. It is when everything comes to the surface and has to be dealt with! You cannot create your own image of what your child will look like because if different than expected will create a sense of overwhelming depression. It is depressing and discouraging when things do not happen the way they do, but that is what revival looks like. It is messy, and it brings everything to the surface in order to be dealt with. It positions you to be resurrected into a new creation while walking in the favor of the LORD. It revives dead dreams and visions so they can be lived out! It is not time to stop dreaming because it seemed out of season. It is time to walk in an age of glory that never comes to an end.

How do you do this, especially when it seems promises have died? Too many of us waste time trying to diagnose our situation and circumstance instead of deriving to a conclusion. For example, this child could have died from any potential illness. It could have been a stroke, aneurism or seizure, but either way, it was definitely neurological. Adam’s Clarke’s Commentary on the Old Testament says, “The child sneezed seven times—That is, it sneezed abundantly. When the nervous influence began to act on the muscular system, before the circulation could be in every part restored, particular muscles, if not the whole body, would be thrown into strong contractions and shiverings, and sternutation or sneezing would be a natural consequence; particularly as obstructions must have taken place in the head and its vessels, because of the disorder of which the child died. Most people, as well as philosophers and physicians, have remarked how beneficial sneezings are to the removal of obstructions in the head. Sternutamenta , says Pliny, Hist. Nat., lib. xxviii., cap. 6, gravedinem capitis emendant ; ‘Sneezing relieves disorders of the head.’” (Adam’s Commentary) Whatever was going on in his head, something had to be released! It is time to release any thoughts or lies of the enemy is trying to speak death to your purpose and identity in Christ! If it does not line up with the Word of God, let it go and walk in the truth because it is His truth that will make us free!

Too often we grow weary laboring in the fields, allowing the busyness of life to distract us from the place of devotion when our work should flow from that place. The exhaustion of the harvest (cycles) has caused death to the promise. The only way it can be resurrected is when you lay your promise on the bed where prophets dream. When you function in cycles, never undergoing transformation by the renewing of your mind, the cycle itself will kill a generation instead of the seed of God’s Word saving a generation! But if the promise has died from the cycles, you have to lay the promise where prophets dream. Joel 2:28-29 says, “28And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” You do not give up on the promises of God because He is not one that should lie (Hebrews 6:18). His promises are “Yes” and “Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20). At the voice of His Word, dreams and promises can be fulfilled once again. Let your living hope rest in the Word, who is Jesus Christ, and through unity, agreement and alignment, you can begin to live out purpose and walk in the newness of life!

One thing about the Shunammite woman is that she never doubted. She did not go ahead and bury her son, but she knew what God had spoken He would perform. So, she put her promise in a place where it could be resurrected! Don’t speak negative. Produce a culture of revival by speaking life, the words of Christ!