A Double Portion

"When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied."  2 Kings 2:9

"Elisha asked not for worldly honor, or for a high place among the great men of earth. That which he craved was a large measure of the Spirit that God had bestowed so freely upon the one about to be honored with translation."
He knew that nothing but the Spirit which had rested upon Elijah could fit him to fill the place in Israel to which God had called him, and so he asked, "I pray thee, let a double portion of thy Spirit be upon me." Patriarchs and Prophets p. 226-227

This powerful verse and quote really hit home. Elisha truly understood the solemn responsibility of the position he was to assume. He had worked with Elijah, and knew that only through the strength of the One who had sent him, could he take the role of God's faithful servant. 
Do we understand the weighty responsibility of being God's representatives here on earth? Do we pray earnestly that God may endow us with a double portion of His Spirit, or are we so focused on title and position, that we lose sight of the main reason we are here in this world? We are here to serve, and it should be our humbly prayer that we may be effective in whatever line of work God sees fit for us. Oh that we would grasp our need of Heaven's help. Blessings and power are only a prayer away. Oh how it must break the Father's heart that we pray so little.

Solomon prayed for an extra measure of wisdom, and Elisha prayed for a double portion of the Lord's Spirit. May we realize our need of both wisdom and God's Spirit, and may we humbly ask, for he who asks, will assuredly receive. 

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