The first church where my husband served as a paid member of the staff was Grace Church in Jackson Mississippi. He started as the music member and ended up as the youth pastor. As usual, he was a bit of a troublemaker and began to bring in young people who were not “church” kids. In truth, this bothered some people since it was apparent that we did not always have control of the behavior of the group. One sweet older lady was different. Mrs. Mildred Hutchison had her hair in a bun and her skirts below her knees, but primarily her heart in the right place. She never tried to fix any of these unruly teenagers or even their unruly youth pastor. In fact, I do not ever remember her saying a critical word to us. She did ask for all their names. She asked about their families and lives.
Most importantly, she prayed for them all. Throughout the years, I have often heard my husband speak about her and the tremendous blessing it was to know that she prayed for all of us. Last Saturday she passed away at 90 years of age.
I confess I cried when her granddaughter posted a picture of a prayer list that they found in her Bible. There we were all our names and all those teens. How many times had she prayed over that list and saved us from disaster by the blanket of divine protection she wrapped around us? God only knows, and I am so humbled and grateful!
There is though with the passing of that praying generation, a sense of loss. Who will pray for us now?
Oswald Chambers offers the following admonition from the story of Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:
“It is not wrong to depend upon Elijah as long as God gives him to you, but remember the time will come when he will have to go; when he stands no more to you as your guide and leader, because God does not intend he should. You say- “I cannot do on without Elijah.” God says you must. Alone at your Jordan v. 14. Jordan is a type of the separation where there is no fellowship with anyone else, and where no one can take the responsibility for you. You have to put to the test now what you learned when you were with your Elijah. You have been to Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are up against it alone. It is no use saying you cannot go; this experience has come, and you must go. If you want to know whether God is the God you have faith to believe Him to be, then go through your Jordan alone.”[i]
How many times throughout the years have we stood at a Jordan River in our lives, and watched the waters part without knowing that the prayers of a little woman in Mississippi were the Elijah cloak that struck the waters for us? Now it is our turn, and my heart cries out as Elisha’s did, “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit!” As the old song said, let your mantle fall on me!
LET THY MANTLE FALL ON ME
1) Elijah was God’s prophet;
Elisha stood close by,
And ere the prophet left him,
He heard his servant cry:
CHORUS:
Let thy mantle fall on me!
Let thy mantle fall on me!
A double portion of Thy spirit,
Lord, Let thy mantle fall on me!
2) Then Elijah made the promise
That, if faithful he would be,
His petition would be granted,
And God’s glory he would see
3) As Elijah rose to heaven
In a chariot of fire,
He did not forget his servant,
Who expressed one strong desire.
4) In the Upper Room they waited —
“Twas the faithful Christian band –
And their prayer was heard and answered
Over in the gloryland.
5) That prayer of early Christians
Long ago and far away
Is the cry of all God’s children;
And He’s just the same today.
Floyd W. Hawkins
Now we have so much greater access to one another
through social media. Has your friend list become your prayer list yet? Mine
has! Please let me know how I can pray for you, you see, I found this shawl
that looks a lot like the one Mrs. Hutchison used to wear…
[i] Chambers, Oswald. My utmost for His highest. Uhrichville: Barbour Publishing, 1963.