2 Kings 4:1

2 Kings 4:1 says, Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.  The widow of a prophet that Elijah knew to be a good man came to him and said her husband had died and his creditors had come to take her two sons as bondservants to pay off his debt.  This would have likely left her with no one to help support her.  Matthew Henry says that though prophets, or ministers today, should not be in debt that sometimes it happens but that it should never be because of living in luxury.  We should live content with what God provides for us.  Verse two adds, And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.  Elijah asked her what she wanted him to do, and then he asked her what she had in the house.  She said all she had was a pot of oil.  If people come to us for help today, I believe we should first pray about what to do, see what they have to work with, and then take the action that God leads us to take.  Verse three continues, Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.  Elisha told her to go borrow many pots from here neighbors.  This required obedience on her part even if she didn't see the purpose yet.  We need to obey God's guidance even if we don't see any physical proof for the need to do so.  Verse four concludes, And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.  Eisha told after she did so that she was to close her doors with her sons inside and pour out the oil into the empty vessels.  Again, this required faith on her part and was not being done for show to the world.  Sometimes, God does miraculous things in our lives that the world will never see happen, but that doesn't make them less real.  Verse five states, So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.  The widow did what Elisha told her to do, and we must do what God tells us to do today if we are going to be successful spiritually.  Verse six adds, And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.  When all the vessels were full, she asked her son to bring her another, and he said there wasn't another, and the oil stayed the same.  There was no need for it to flow if there was no place for it to be collected to be used. I don't believe that God is ever going to bless us with anything to waste.  Once He meets our needs, there will be nothing more provided just to be wasted.  Verse seven continues, Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.  She came and told Elisha what had happened.  He told her to go and sell the oil and pay off her debt and for her children and her to live off the rest of the sales money.  She acted in faith and God met her needs, just as He will for us today.