Chariots of Fire

The king of Syria was on the warpath to conquer Israel, but the Prophet Elisha thwarted his every strategy by receiving revelation and telling the king of Israel about the Syrian battle plans. At first, the king of Syria thought a spy in his camp was leaking his plans to the Israelites. A servant of the king, however, knew the reputation of Elisha and rightly explained how the Israelite army learned of the king's plans. 

Determined to end Israel's revelatory advantage, the king of Syria sent "a great host" to capture Elisha. The Syrian army surrounded the city of Dothan, where Elisha lived with his young servant. The servant arose in the morning to begin his daily duties and saw the menacing army arrayed on the hills about the city. He fled back into the house, aroused Elisha, and said, paraphrasing, "Holy smokes! What are we going to do now?"

The wise prophet calmed the young man's natural fears with the famous words, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
--2 Kings 6:17

Elisha then prayed and asked the Lord to smite the Syrians with blindness, which the Lord promptly did. Elisha offered to lead the sightless and frightened Syrians to safety. They followed him, and he brought them into the capital city of Northern Israel. The Lord returned their sight, and when they saw their predicament, they promptly surrendered.

Of this account in the Old Testament Priscilla Shirer wrote: 

"Prayer made [the servant] aware of all the resources and strength and protection that God had already placed on their side. Without this renewed perspective he was already defeated before the battle had even begun . . . before the day had even started. That’s what the enemy wants. He wants you living in a state of defeat. Your defenses down. Your resolve weak and flimsy. Surrendering to an army of insecurities and misdiagnosis instead of courageously thriving in the sophisticated security of your identity in Christ."

The devil is ever on the offensive, plotting daily his strategies to attack our weaknesses and defeat our desires for righteousness. But God does not leave us defenseless. Though we may be surrounded, He has not left us alone. How important our prayers are in the morning to show us not only the enemy but also the strength of the Lord surrounding us! They that be with us are always more than they that be with them. We just need to pray to see the truth of our situation. Our mountains are always full of horses and chariots of fire. God will never abandon us. But we must pray to have eyes to see what God is doing for us every day.