Elisha in 2 Kings 6: When Prayer Opens Doors

Is your church too small? Do you have a project that's bigger than your strength? Patrick Salafranque, pastor of the church in Antibes, opens up 2 Kings 6 to remind you what the sons of the prophets dared to ask Elisha: "Come with us." Then he shares 40 years of the story of a church that grew through one single key: prayer.

Introduction: a "good problem"

The starting text is short. In 2 Kings 6:1-2, the sons of the prophets come and say to Elisha: "See now, the place where we live near you is too small for us. Please let us go to the Jordan, and every man take a beam from there, and let us make us a place there, where we may live."

Patrick says it right away: this is a good problem. The bad problem would be an empty room. The good problem is a room overflowing because God is adding people. A living body grows, and if the church is a living body, it has to grow. If you feel cramped, that's not a curse, it's a sign.

But in the text, the prophets don't just make plans. One of them says to Elisha: "Please be pleased to go with your servants." That's the real key of the story: not the beam, not the building project, but that small phrase: "Come with us."

Outline of the message

1. A good problem calls for a good solution

Patrick recounts 40 years of ministry. A home meeting of 10 people in the Gironde region that grew to 40 in a dining room. A garage in Libourne that overflowed until they had to serve the Lord's Supper out in the street, and then God opened a door on Rue Belle-Œuvre. A 400-square-meter space in Pons. And in Antibes, 200 chairs to start, and today 600 seats nearly full every Sunday, with a second service now being studied.

The refrain is always the same: "The Lord has solutions." God is the God of multiplication, the God of growth. He wants to enlarge his church. Isaiah 54:2 says it clearly: "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your habitations; don't spare: lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes."

2. "Come with us": Elisha, a figure of Jesus

The name Elisha speaks volumes. In Hebrew, Elisha comes from "El" (God) and the root "yasha" (to save), the same root that gives us Yeshua. Elisha means "God saves," "God is salvation." He foreshadows the Lord Jesus.

So when the sons of the prophets say to him, "come with us," it's already the prayer of the Church rising up to Christ. Without him, you can draw up plans, knock down walls, buy chairs, but nothing good, nothing lasting for the Kingdom will come of it. Jesus said it himself: "Apart from me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). And John 1:3 sums it up: "All things were made through him. Without him, nothing was made that has been made." Everything through him, nothing without him.

3. Persevering in prayer, all together with one accord

Acts 1:14 is a key verse for Patrick: "These all with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer." He sees three essential words in it: prayer, prayer, prayer. Prayer isn't magic. You don't just snap your fingers. You have to persevere, and you have to be united.

When someone once asked Billy Graham for three keys to a victorious spiritual life, the evangelist answered: first, prayer; second, prayer; third, prayer.

4. Jesus himself was a man of prayer

Nothing was magic in Jesus' life. He prayed, and while he was praying, things happened:

• At his baptism, "while he prayed, the sky was opened" (Luke 3:21) and the Holy Spirit descended on him.
• After 40 days in the desert, he came back in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14) and taught with authority.
• Before choosing the 12, "he continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12), then called his apostles.
• On the mountain, "as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered" (Luke 9:29), the transfiguration.
• At Gethsemane, in his agony, "an angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him" (Luke 22:43).

Do you need the Holy Spirit? Pray. Do you have a decision to make? Pray first. Do you need transformation? Pray. Are you going through a battle? Pray, help is on the way.

5. 40 days of prayer and fasting: the turning point in Antibes

At one point, Patrick read the account of Jesus' 40 days in the desert and thought to himself: "What if we did that too, as a church?" He proposed 40 days of prayer and fasting, with three meetings a day: 6:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 7 pm. The board tried to talk him out of it. His answer: "I'll be there every morning, every noon, every evening. If three of you join me, that's already a success."

It wasn't just three. It was 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, and sometimes the 80-seat prayer room was completely full. People who had drifted away came back. Spiritual gifts started operating again. And that year, 40 baptisms took place in Antibes, something never seen before. From that point on, the church never stopped growing.

6. Three doors that prayer opened

Patrick shares three concrete testimonies of a God who answers when you persevere:

• The storage unit and the safety inspection. A 700-square-meter space under the church, full of furniture, with no fire safety measures in place. Three months to fix it, or else shut down, affecting 300 believers. Legally, there was no way out. The team prays. The tenant eventually agrees to sell his lease for €15,000 instead of €30,000. That space is now used for meals, youth events, weddings, and the food bank.
• The parking lot in front of the school. Impossible: a secular town hall and school, opposition on the town council. The team prays. The mayor ends up calling himself: "We're giving you the parking lot." 200 spaces, three minutes from the church, every Sunday.
• Every expansion of the building. One wall knocked down, then another, then more spaces bought, again and again, until reaching today's 600-seat auditorium. Always after prayer.

Key takeaways

• A "good problem" is a gift. If you're running out of space, if your project has outgrown you, if you don't know where to seat people anymore, rejoice: God is growing something.
• The solution is called "come with us." Like the sons of the prophets with Elisha, your first prayer isn't "give me," but "come with us, Lord."
• Prayer isn't magic, it's persevering and united. Acts 1:14 comes down to three words: prayer, perseverance, unity.
• Jesus prayed, so you can pray. If the Son of God spent whole nights praying to his Father, you're not too important to pray, and you're not too small either.
• God already has the solution. It exists before you even ask for it. Your part is to stand before him, over time, and trust him.

Personal application

1. What's your "good problem" today: in your family, your work, your service at church, your spiritual life? Do you see it as an invitation to pray?
2. Do you pray "come with us" first, before you pray "give me"? What place do you give to Jesus' presence in your plans?
3. Is there an area where you prayed once and then gave up? What would it take for you to persevere, alone or with others, over several weeks?
4. Who could you pray "with one accord" with: a spouse, a friend, a small group, your church? Set a date this week.
5. Take 15 minutes alone with God and ask him: "Lord, what do you want to open up in me, in us, if we take the time to pray?"

Verses cited

• 2 Kings 6:1-7 (WEB) · The sons of the prophets and Elisha at the Jordan
• Acts 1:14 (WEB) · Continuing steadfastly in prayer with one accord
• Isaiah 54:2 (WEB) · Enlarge the place of your tent
• John 1:3 (WEB) · Without him nothing was made that has been made
• John 15:5 (WEB) · Apart from me you can do nothing
• Luke 3:21-22 (WEB) · While he prayed, the sky was opened
• Luke 6:12 (WEB) · He spent the night in prayer before calling the Twelve
• Luke 9:28-29 (WEB) · The transfiguration while he prayed
• Luke 22:43 (WEB) · An angel strengthens him at Gethsemane

FAQ

Do I have to fast for 40 days to see God move in my church?

No. Patrick is sharing his own experience, not laying down a rule. What matters is the posture: perseverance, unity, and "come with us, Lord." Some churches fast for 3 days, others for a week, others for a whole season of Lent. What matters is standing before God over time.

Does the name Elisha really mean "God saves"?

Yes. In Hebrew, Elisha (אֱלִישָׁע) is formed from "El" (God) and the root yasha (to save, to deliver), the same root that gives us Yeshua, "the Lord saves." So even in his name, Elisha points forward to the Savior to come.

What do I do if I pray and the door doesn't open?

Two things. First, check that you're praying "come with us" and not just "give me what I want": God responds to his presence, not to a checklist. Second, persevere. Patrick spent months praying before the space, the parking lot, or the agreement finally came through. Acts 1:14 says they "continued steadfastly," not "prayed once." Trust God's timing.