The Oil Stopped Flowing
When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing (2 Ki. 4:6 ESV)
What if the size of your miracle depends on the space you make for it? We often ask God for more, yet we may be unaware that we lack the capacity to receive or contain what we’re requesting.
In 2 Kings 4, a desperate widow came to Elisha with nothing but a small pot of oil. What happened next reveals a powerful truth about spiritual capacity. Keep reading—you may discover that the only thing standing between you and your next breakthrough is the size of your vessel.
The widow’s husband had died, leaving her in debt, and creditors were coming to take her two sons as slaves. She cried out to Elisha, and he asked, “What hast thou in the house?” She replied, “Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil” (2 Kings 4:2, KJV). That little pot of oil was all she had left—but in God’s hands, it was more than enough.
Elisha then gave her a strange instruction: “Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few” (2 Kings 4:3, KJV). Why gather empty jars when she had so little? Yet she obeyed. As she poured out her small amount of oil, it miraculously multiplied, filling every vessel she had borrowed. The oil only stopped flowing when she ran out of vessels.
God’s provision didn’t run dry—her capacity did.
This teaches us two critical truths: there is a blessing, and there is the capacity to contain it. In the New Testament, Paul echoed this when he said, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Corinthians 4:7, KJV), and Jesus reinforced it when He spoke of putting new wine into new wineskins (Matthew 9:17). Both allude to the same principle: the blessing requires a vessel to contain it.
So, here’s the question: Could our capacity be limiting the size of the blessing God wants to give us? Let me stretch your thinking—if God gave you a billion dollars today, could you handle it? Would you still love Him, remain humble, seek His kingdom, and stay grounded? It’s an extreme example, but it illustrates the point.
The next question is: What determines our capacity? The widow’s capacity was measured by physical vessels, but ours is spiritual. Our “earthen vessels” include everything about us—our hearts, souls, minds, and habits—that make God’s presence and power welcome in our lives. Faith and expectation play a major role, as do spiritual hunger, righteous living, emotional resilience, and our willingness to make room for God.
Are you making room for Him? Is your heart a large vessel, ready to be filled? You will not experience God beyond your hunger for Him. Where your hunger stops, there your anointing stops.
If you want more of Him, enlarge your capacity—make room for more of His presence, more of His power, and more of His glory in your life.
Meditate
If you were in the widow’s place, how many vessels would you have borrowed?
Declare: “The capacity of my heart is increasing to create more room for more of God’s oil in my life.”
Apply the Word
Are you truly hungry for God? What is your level of expectation? If more Christians sought God with the same passion as sports fans for their teams, the world would be on fire for Jesus!
Ask God to expand your faith and increase your spiritual hunger.
Pray
Lord, increase my hunger for You. Fill every empty place in my life with more of Your presence and power. Amen.
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