The way God ministers to us is often different from what we expect. We often look for God’s help to come from heaven in grand and spectacular ways—but God often chooses the lowly and despised places to reveal His power.
When we ask God for something, we must let go of the mindset that His answer will always come from extraordinary means. Yes, the outcome might be great, but the source may be completely unexpected.
Consider Naaman, the commander of the army of Aram (Syria). He was a great and honorable man, yet he was afflicted with leprosy for many years. One day, he heard of the prophet Elisha in Israel and decided to seek healing. But the way Elisha instructed him to receive his healing shocked him—it was not what he expected.
Let’s read:
2 Kings 5:9–14 (NIV)
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.
10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”
14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
Many people today are like Naaman. They go to God with serious needs—illness, life problems, bondage—but when God gives simple instructions for healing or breakthrough, they dismiss or ignore them.
For example, the Bible clearly teaches that every believer should be baptized by full immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins:
Acts 2:38 – “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
Yet many give excuses:
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“Baptism doesn’t save.”
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“It’s just symbolic.”
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“My church teaches differently.”
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“Any kind of baptism is okay—sprinkling or immersion.”
Still, these same people spend hours swimming at the beach or relaxing in pools—but won’t enter water once for the purpose of baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. What spirit is truly influencing them?
And often, the same people claim to be saved and to have walked with Christ for many years. But Jesus gave clear commands, and we should not take them lightly. Baptism may not mean much to you, but it meant everything to Jesus who commanded it.
You may expect someone to lay hands on you or to give you holy oil, but the Lord says, “Go into the water and you’ll be healed.”
You may think God will ask you to fast for 40 days or give large offerings, but instead, He gives you simple acts of obedience like washing the feet of the saints, and He promises great rewards through them.
John 13:14–17
14 “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
You may see yourself as too important to wash someone else’s feet, but Jesus, who was God in the flesh, did it. So who are we to say, “I can’t do that”?
If you reject God’s basic instructions, how can you expect Him to answer your prayers in the way you desire? People expect God to work through anointing oil, laying on of hands, or fasting—but often ignore the clear, simple commands of the Lord. Just like Naaman, many want miracles on their terms—not God’s.
The Jews expected the Messiah to come as a great warrior king, overthrowing the Romans and establishing a powerful kingdom. But when Jesus came as a humble man, born in a poor family, preaching love and dying on a cross, they missed Him completely.
In the same way, if you want God to minister to you, you must humble yourself. True humility means obeying God’s simple instructions, even when they seem foolish or unimportant to human reasoning.
Don’t see yourself as “too spiritual” or “too advanced” to obey God’s Word. Don’t measure truth by your church or denomination—measure everything by Scripture. That’s how you’ll know if the Holy Spirit is still active in your life—if you are willing to obey all His commands as revealed in the Bible.
Revelation 2:7 – “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Maranatha
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