He was seeking healing from leprosy. Leprosy has been a scourge on the human condition for thousands of years. Anyone who is stricken with this disease knows that they will endure years of pain and ultimately death. Naaman was a powerful man and a warrior who was used to giving commands and having those commands obeyed. When he discovered that he was stricken with leprosy, he searched for a cure -- and of course, at that time, there was no cure.

One day, his wife's Israelite servant girl told her about the power of God moving through the prophet Elisha. When he heard of the ministry of Elisha, Naaman was willing to humble his pride, leave his homeland, and travel to Israel in order to see the prophet of God. He was a man without many options and so God became his only hope. We are like Naaman that we don't always recognize that our lives are held together by God's power and grace. And that is why, like Naaman, we must come humbly before the Lord to obtain favor and mercy in our time of need.

His officers convinced him of the wisdom of obeying the commands of the prophet. By doing so, Naaman received his healing. It is wise to learn to listen to those around you, no matter what their station in life, knowing that sometimes God uses the weak and the seemingly insignificant to speak to us and keep us humble.

This was a demonstration of humility. Naaman was a warrior who won many battles for his king and his country. So his king, his soldiers, and the people of Syria heaped praise upon him. He was accustomed to being in charge and to giving the orders. So when he came before the man of God, he had difficulty humbling himself in obedience to the Lord's instructions. In fact, he almost lost out on his healing because he did not want to follow the instructions of Elisha to bathe in the Jordan River. He declared that the rivers in Damascus were cleaner than any river in Israel. But he listened to the advice of his captains, humbled himself, and obeyed the word of the Lord -- and thus received his healing.

When we come before the Lord in our time of prayer, it's important for us to humble ourselves like Naaman did to receive favor from God. Scripture says that we can come before the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor in our time of need. But this only can happen if we are willing to humble ourselves and recognize that Jesus is Lord and that we are His servants.

Elisha was totally surrendered to God in every area of his life. He did not want money, wealth, power, or prestige to interfere with the call of God that was on his life. He did not want sin to come between him and the Lord or to hinder the Lord's work through his life because of his greed. The Bible doesn't say whether God told him not to receive the gift from Naaman, but we see that Elisha was quick to refuse the offer, desiring only to honor God. In the same way, each one of us needs to be careful to check our heart and our motives in pursuing wealth, especially when it has to do with the kingdom of God or ministry to others. Where our treasure is, there will heart be also. The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), and so we must not allow the love of money to interfere with the calling of God on our lives.

Naaman was returning to a place where false gods were worshiped everywhere. He wanted to always remember the true God who healed him. So he planned on taking dirt from where Elisha, the man of God, lived. Naaman would build and altar on the dirt and make an offering to the one true God.