Open Heaven 16 July 2025: Obey God’s Instructions
MEMORISE: Proverbs 8:10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; a n d knowledge rather than choice gold.
READ: 2 Kings 5:1-14
Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”
5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”
So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said,
Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”
8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the [c]Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional Here
In 2 Kings 4:1-7, the widow of one of the sons of the prophets was in debt, and the creditors told her that they would take her children as slaves if she failed to pay the debt. She ran to Elisha for help, and the man of God gave her instructions that seemed foolish.
He told her to borrow many empty vessels from her neighbours and pour from the little bottle of oil she had into them. Miraculously, all the empty vessels were filled with oil. A lot of times, God’s instructions might seem not to make sense, but if you can just obey Him, you will experience a miracle.
Many years ago, the General Superintendent of the RCCG, my Father in the Lord, Pa Josiah Akindayomi, told all the church workers at a meeting that the church had a great need that must be met by the following week. He added that all the workers should close their accounts and bring the money in them to church the next Sunday. My wife and I obeyed; we closed our savings accounts and took the money to church.
The following Sunday, Papa said that the need had been met and asked how many people had closed their accounts. I and my wife raised our hands, but when I looked around, no other hands were raised.
I began to think to myself, “It seems I have run mad in the name of religion,” then I heard God say, “Son, you are not mad; I am setting you up so that when I take you to the height I plan to take you, nobody will be able to accuse me of being partial.” It is usually not convenient to obey God’s instructions. However, if you dare to obey, you will enjoy unusual results.
In today’s Bible reading, Naaman, the Syrian, went to Elisha expecting a miracle. He expected the prophet to come outside and lay hands on him, but Elisha sent a messenger to him with a simple instruction: go to River Jordan and bathe seven times.
As long as he kept arguing with that instruction, he remained a leper. However, the moment he obeyed the instruction, he was healed, and his flesh became like that of a little child.
Beloved, God is always willing to give you a miracle, but you must obey His instructions even when they seem foolish.
KEY POINT: Obedience to God’s instructions births tremendous miracles and breakthroughs.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 4-8
Open Heaven 16 July 2025
