Pray for the Impossible

"Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, 'O sun, stand still at Gibeon,and O moon in the valley of Aijalon.' So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel." -Joshua 10.12-14

Word of Israel's victories is spreading through the land of Canaan, and the kings of the land are worried. Already two cities have been destroyed, and one of them was Jericho. Five kings form an alliance and move to attack Gibeon, the men who tricked Joshua into an alliance. God tells Joshua to go and fight, and that none of them will stand before him. The people march all night, and then the massacre begins.

They are winning. The enemy is fleeing and God is sending hailstones on them. But Joshua does not want to allow them to have time to regroup, call for more aid, and possibly turn the tide of battle. And so he prays to God, asking the sun to stand still so that Israel can have more time to defeat their enemies. God answers his prayer. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky.

Joshua asks for the impossible, and God answers. Joshua courageously, and confidently made a request to God, and God gave him what he asked for.

Men, do you pray for the impossible? Do you have the faith to ask God to do something crazy? When you do, is your request confident or timid? Just because we ask God for something does not mean He is going to give it, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't ask. Sometimes God says no, other times He says not yet, and sometimes He says yes. The question is do we have the courage to ask, and the faith to believe He will answer? Are we willing to risk Him saying no? Are we afraid that He might say yes?

Joshua's prayer was answered because it lined up with what God had commanded him to do. He prayed for more time to achieve a victory God had sent him to claim. It was a big request, and made publically before the people, but he had the faith in God to ask. He was not afraid of hearing no, something was needed and so he boldly asked God.

Let us have the courage to pray big. Let us have the faith to ask God help us accomplish the things that He has called us to do. Let us be men who boldly pray for the impossible.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor