Another story the Bear has taken a liking to in his children’s Bible  is the story of Elijah, when his little brook dries up and he goes to stay with a widow in Zarephath. {It’s in 1 Kings 17 if you’d like to enjoy it later.} In the story, Elijah finds this widow and asks her for a glass of water. After she obliges him, he asks her for some bread.
She doesn’t like that idea so much.
You see, the widow and her young son (remember in Elijah’s day women didn’t work much outside the home so a woman without a husband usually had to count on children or other family members to provide for her) only had a little flour and a little oil left, and with drought going on that was kind of a big pwobwum. (As Ming Ming, the Wonder Pet might put it. Can you tell I’ve been spending heaps of time with my children?)
But Elijah told the woman not to worry, and that if she went and made him some bread, her flour and oil would not run out until the Lord sent rain onto the Earth again. She trusted him, made him some bread (I bet it was kind of like this recipe) and just as Elijah had said, her flour and oil did not run out, and she was able to feed herself, her son, and Elijah throughout the drought.
Good story, hey?
One evening last month while I was washing the dishes after dinner that story came to mind as I glanced over at the bottle of olive oil that sits besides our stovetop on the counter. I love olive oil and use it kind of a lot, and the bottle was about to run out. It was perhaps a week or so before the end of the month. Our finances were tight and getting another big old bottle of olive oil was going to have to wait.
As I pondered that for a moment, the story came to mind, and I prayed:
“Lord, you could make that bottle of olive oil just like the widow’s in the story. Lord, will you make it so that that bottle of oil won’t run out?”
It was a simple sort of “Why not ask?” prayer — I was genuine in asking, but it wasn’t going to crush my faith if nothing happened.
But something happened.
And here’s what happened.
Every once in a while, my Mom makes a Sam’s Club run. It’s in the next town over so it’s not convenient to go all the time, but when she goes she gets diapers and baby wipes for me and I pay her back. They’re such a good deal compared to the prices everywhere else!
She picked up diapers and wipes for me at Sam’s, and she also decided just to buy some extra things to bless us with — like a ginormous box of brownie mix (whoo-hoo!), oats for granola making, and {want to take a guess…?}
a gargantuan bottle of olive oil!
She didn’t know I’d prayed that little prayer. {She does know I really like olive oil.}
But what a blessing that, in a way slightly different than what I’d expected, God provided olive oil, which is likely to not run out until our personal financial drought is over. And then some.
Beth Moore once wrote that she sensed the Lord speaking to her one day when she was praying:
“My child, you believe Me for so little. Don’t be so safe in the things you pray. Who are you trying to keep from looking foolish? Me or you?” — {Beth Moore, Praying God’s Word}
This simple interaction between our amazing Creator and tiny (but getting bigger!) me just reminded me that if we have childlike faith, we won’t to be afraid to ask big and believe big. The Bear asked just this week if it could be his birthday and he could be four. “I’ve been three a long time…” he said wistfully.
Don’t worry about looking foolish. Ask for the impossible. Believe for the incredible. What do you have to lose? Maybe the Lord will answer in the way you hope, maybe He’ll help you understand if He does something different. Don’t be afraid to ask!
xCC
What a great reminder of how much our Father wants to bless us and how we need to ask! Thanks!
PS – My 3 year old keeps asking wistfully when it will be November, as that is when he turns 4! Clearly its a universal wish!
What a fun and beautiful post!!! I love it when God does stuff like this!!! Thanks for sharing- so encouraged me today 🙂