When we consciously open our lives and make a place for God to speak, He will bring words that restore, heal, and make right what is wrong. All of this happens because a place has been made for Him.

A woman living in the town of Shunem asked Elisha to stop and stay at her home whenever he was in town. After this happened a few times, she went to her husband and asked if they could build a private room on their roof that Elisha could use during his visits. Then they built the room.

Elisha was blessed by the offer of a room and asked his servant to go and ask the woman, “What can we do for you?” (II Kings 4:13). She said she had all she needed and kindly refused Elisha’s offer. Elisha called the woman back and prophesied to her, “Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms” (vs. 17). From the text it indicates her husband was old and the birth of a child was long considered an impossibility.

The next year her son was born as prophesied. One day when the boy was older, he and his father were out harvesting grain when the boy had a massive headache and died. When Elisha heard the news, he traveled to the home where the boy’s body had been placed. Elisha spread out his body over the boy’s body and life returned after the boy sneezed seven times. 

The woman who made a room for Elisha did so to support Elisha’s calling. The room was simply a way to honor Elisha. From that act of accommodation, she would be given a son. She would also experience another miracle of having the boy restored to life. Making room for Elisha’s gift also made room for miracles.

The room the woman in Shunem constructed for Elisha is a metaphor for our lives. Each day we need to make a conscious effort to create a place in our hearts for the word of God to live.  Elisha traveled through the area from time to time. His visits were not an everyday occurrence. But when he came, Elisha had a place to live. It is the same when a word from the Lord is spoken to us. That experience may not happen each day, but when it does the word will have a place.

The woman modeled how we are to live a life of faith always making a place for the prophetic words of God to be spoken in our lives. We may not realize what is coming when we first create that place. Someday we may enter a difficult season in our life where we will need a miracle. Those miracles happen because we made a conscious choice to create a place in our lives to honor the word of the Lord.