Bible passage:
2 Kings 5: 1-5,14, 17-19 - Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”... So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean....
Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord. In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.” He said to him, “Go in peace.”
Let's think about the little girl, and try to look at her circumstances and her choices.
Jehoram, Son of Ahab was the king of Israel in Samaria, and he is said to have done evil in the sight of the Lord. The girl would have been brought up in an Israel which didn't regard Lord as they ought to have. Yet, she seemed to have faith in the Lord of Israel, much more than the King of Israel himself.
The girl also fell into misfortune by being carried off in one of the Syrian raids. Her faith still remained!
The girl most probably worked sincerely and truthfully, for her words to be trusted and even quoted to the king of Syria.
The girl also seemed to have loved her master and mistress so much, that she wanted them to get better, instead of gloating over their misfortune - which she could have justified to be God's punishment on them!
In simple words, the girl's actions declared to Naaman to taste and see that the Lord is good. The girls' workplace was her mission field, where she declared God's truth, power, and goodness. God used that to draw the commander of the army of Syria (a nation opposed to God's people), to himself. Shall we intercede for those at our workplaces - our mission fields? Shall we pray that they would see the goodness of God and learn of His ways, eventually to call Him, 'Abba Father'?
Prayer points:
Pray that God would draw people whom we work with, to Himself. Pray that God would soften their hearts, quicken their conscience, and enlighten their minds.
Pray that through signs and wonders, through dreams and visions, through His own sweet presence, God would reveal Himself to those whom we work with.
Pray that the deep needs of those around us would be met by God, that God quenches their thirst, that he heals their diseases, and delivers them from debts.
Pray that God would give them opportunities to hear His word with clarity and grace, and circumstances to experience His power and peace.
If you can, try memorizing 1 Corinthians 3:6-7.
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