Powerful Prayers

II-THE PRAYER OF JOSHUA SHOWS POSTURE IN PRAYER:

Joshua was one of the great men of faith. He was never one of those who wanted to return to the flesh pots of Egypt. His desire was to go into the promise land. He was a mighty man of prayer.

A-Notice The Person He SAW: Joshua 5:13-14A

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

14: And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.

This was not a angel for angels are not worshipped. He realized he was in the presence of God .

Why pray, if God loves us and knows all we need before we pray? “What if he knows prayer to be the thing we need first and most? What if the main object in God’s idea of prayer be the supplying of our great, our endless need—the need of himself? What if the good of all our smaller and lower needs lies in this, that they help drive us to God? Communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other needs; prayer is the beginning of that communion. ( George MacDonald)

ILLUSTRATION: They tell us that at Waterloo, when the English soldiers were there, and the "thin red line" had to stand the fire of the enemy hour after hour, and no charge sounded -- when silently the soldier had to take the place of the fallen, as comrade after comrade fell beneath the withering fire -- they tell us that as the Duke of Wellington rode up and down the lines, whenever he appeared, the soldiers whispered, "Here is the Duke!" and they stood firm. Oh, how they stood So let us say, ’Here is Jesus Christ," and stand firm.

B-Notice The Position He SOUGHT: Joshua 5:14B

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

In 2 Chron. 7:14, we find the recipe for Revival, and the first condition is to humble ourselves before God.

ILLUSTRATION: I read about a preacher and a deacon visiting a unsaved man who was on a tractor. As they shared Jesus with him, he paid no attention to them. All of sudden, the deacon fell into dirt on his knees and begin to pray for the man to be saved. When he was finished, he got up and left with the preacher. But that night, at the Revival, the man on the tractor got saved.

When asked the secret of his spiritual power, Charles Spurgeon said: “Knee work! Knee work!”

ILLUSTRATION: George Adam Smith was a Scottish bible scholar of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He once climbed Switzerland’s Weisshorn mountain on a very stormy day. Smith and his two guides climbed up the sheltered side of the mountain. When they reached the top Smith stood at the top of a peak and was almost blown away by the wind. One of the guides pulled him down, saying "On your knees, sir! You are safe only on your knees." (encyclopedia.com).

C-Notice The Performance He SHOWED: Joshua 5:15

And the captain of the LORD’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.