"And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted...and Elisha went over" (2 Kings 2:14).
Elisha was the faithfu apprentice of Elijah, one of Israel's greatest prophets. Elijah, knowing he would be taken to heaven, said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee?" And Elisha responded, "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." In other words, Elisha wanted what Elijah had, namely the power of God upon his life and ministry, which he laid hold of through prayer. Later, before crossing the same waters that had previously parted miraculously before Elijah, Elisha said, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" Elisha recognized that Elijah was really just an ordinary man who trusted, served and prayed to a great God.
After writing about the power of prayer, James said the following about the prophet Elijah, "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit" (James 5:16-18). Elisha didn't just want to wear the mantle of the prophet Elijah. He didn't just want to have the title of a prophet. He desired to experience the same power from God to carry out his responsibilities as a prophet and man of God. It was evident that Elijah trusted in God and as a result God's hand was on Elijah's ministry. And Elisha knew that apart from God working in his life he could accomplish nothing for God. May the cry of our hearts be, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah."
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