What Shall I Do For You? 2 Kings 4:1-7
What Shall I Do For You?
A wonderful story about God’s care for the fatherless comes from the life of George Müller. In 1835, Müller established a home for orphans in Bristol, England. As a faith mission, this home experienced many remarkable answers to prayer. One morning Müller went into the long dining room of the orphanage. An eyewitness recounts what happened next:
The plates and cups or bowls were on the table. There was nothing on the table but empty dishes. There was no food in the larder, and no money to supply the need. The children were standing waiting for breakfast.
“Children, you know we must be in time for school,” said Müller. Then lifting his hand he prayed, “Dear Father, we thank Thee for what Thou art going to give us to eat.”
According to the account, a knock was then heard at the door. The baker stood there.
“Mr. Müller, I couldn’t sleep last night. Somehow I felt you didn’t have bread for breakfast, and the Lord wanted me to send you some. So I got up at two o’clock and baked some fresh bread, and have brought it.”
Müller thanked the baker and praised God for His care.
“Children,” he said, “we not only have bread, but the rare treat of fresh bread.”
Almost immediately there came a second knock at the door. This time it was the milkman who announced that his milk cart had broken down outside the orphanage, and that he would like to give the children his cans of fresh milk, so that he could empty his wagon and repair it.
I want you to take a good look at this widow again. This obscure, nameless woman. Do you know that our writer in 1 Kings 16:23–28 describes the reign of one of the most important figures in Israelite politics and history—King Omri? Omri, for all his apparent importance, gets six verses from our writer. This Yahweh-fearing widow gets more press than Omri. Which shows that God’s desperate people matter to him