Praise be to the glorious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God is good, and His mercy endures forever! Turn to your neighbor and say, "It is wonderful to be in the house of the Lord this evening." There are many people who have prayed in the Bible, but there are very few who have made bold prayers of bold supplications to God. Today, we are going to look at a couple of those who have prayed bold prayers. Turn to your neighbor and say, "Be Bold, Be Strong, The Lord our God is with you."
Joshua: The Bold Leader
Let's turn to the book of Joshua. Joshua, the son of Nun, is called 'Yehoshua' in Hebrew, which means "The Lord is Salvation." Joshua was born in Egypt and was part of the Exodus with Moses and all the Hebrew people who escaped slavery in Egypt. In the wilderness of Sinai, Moses took Joshua as his assistant. Exodus 24:13 says, "So whenever Moses went into the mountains to speak with God, he would take Joshua along with him." When Moses sent spies to Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb returned with the positive word that they could conquer the Promised Land with God's help. Others said it was not possible, and the Bible says they did not see the Promised Land. Turn and tell your neighbor, "Joshua the Assistant."
God's Presence with Joshua
Let's read from Exodus 33:9 and 11. The Lord came down as a pillar of cloud and stood near the tent or the door. The Shekinah Glory also came down as a cloud and filled the tabernacle. The Lord spoke to Moses face to face like a friend, as a man speaks unto his friend. It also says that Joshua was inside the tabernacle when this incident happened at the door of the Tabernacle. Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim. After Moses, Joshua was chosen as a leader to lead the chosen people to the Promised Land. He was a brilliant military leader who was given the mantle to lead the people of Israel from the wilderness to the Promised Land. He was a very strong spiritual influencer who always relied on God’s Word. But the key to his success was not his caliber but his submission to God. When God spoke, Joshua listened and obeyed. He was a model for obedience. The meaning of Joshua is "The Lord is Salvation."
Joshua’s New Job
In Joshua 1:1-5, God speaks to Joshua and says, "Therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all the people of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." Joshua’s new job was leading lakhs and lakhs of people into the Promised Land – what a challenge for even a man like Joshua! Every new job is a challenge. Without God, it can be frightening. With God, it can be an adventure. God said He would give the Promised Land. Let's see the top three mega projects of Joshua as a leader.
Mega Projects of Joshua
The first was crossing the Jordan. With the Ark of the Covenant leading the way, the Israelites miraculously crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, marking the beginning of their conquest of Canaan under Joshua's leadership. The crossing of the Jordan was God’s plan. He asked them to set their foot in the river along with the tabernacle, and the River Jordan opened up with dry land to walk through. The second was the conquest of Jericho. Following God's instructions, the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days, culminating in the walls collapsing after the sounding of trumpets. Jericho was captured. Crossing the Jordan was not Joshua’s tactics. It was divine strategy. Bringing down Jericho’s wall was not Joshua’s tactics. It was divine strategy. Joshua’s way was to divide and conquer. He first struck central Canaan by taking the city of Jericho and the surrounding territory. He then attacked the south and the north. After conquering Jericho, he conquered Ai. Hearing all of Joshua’s mightiness, the people of Gibeon made peace with Joshua and lived among them. The five kings of the Amorites came up to Gibeon to fight against Joshua and his men. God promised Joshua, "Do not fear because no man shall stand against you."
The third was stopping the sun. Joshua and his valiant men walked about 30 km from Gilgal to Gibeon to fight the five-king coalition. In Joshua 10:11-14, we see this battle where Joshua prayed for the sun and moon to stand still, resulting in miraculous intervention by God. First of all, did the sun stop? Or did the earth stop? Does the sun move? Or does the earth move? Usually, the earth revolves around the sun. The sun does not revolve around us. Joshua only saw that the sun was rising from the east and moving to set in the west. Things that we see are not always true. It is the perception of our thoughts. Our mind reacts to what we see. The Bible says, "Your thoughts are not my thoughts." It is the perception of our thought that the sun moves from east to west.
Joshua’s Bold Prayer
More interestingly, in the Hebrew Bible, it says "Vydhome ha Shemesh” which means Joshua said to the SUN, “Be Silent.” He said “Sun, Be Silent.” I don’t know if Joshua understood the concept of physics, the law of motion, or the law of gravity. I am sure he was not an engineer, doctor, or pilot to understand the quantum of physics involved in the rotation of the earth on its axis or the revolution of the earth around the sun. All that I know is, Joshua had a bold prayer. But Joshua’s prayer was very simple. He said, “Sun, Be Silent.” Vydhome ha Shemesh – Silent the Sun. At times, we may need these bold and faithful prayers. When we have problems, we implode into the problem. Joshua had a problem; he saw that the Amorites were fleeing. He did not want them to escape and then come back mightily. He had a problem at hand and he had a prayer at hand. He prayed – God worked! God is a miracle worker. He prayed his bold prayer – asking the sun to be silent. God worked behind to solve his problem.
We don’t know what God did. Did He stop the earth’s rotation for one full day? Did He slow down the earth’s rotation? Typically, the Earth rotates at roughly 1600 km/hr – Have you traveled in a bike or a car at 100 km/hr? One small prayer from Joshua, and God slowed down this huge (trillions of kgs of weight) earth so that he could win his battle. Someone shout a hallelujah to Him, the Lord Most High. Joshua 10:14 says God listened to the voice of man. We always confront our problem, but God finds a solution to solve the problem. After this victory, they settled themselves in the Promised Land of Canaan. Joshua renewed the covenant between God and the people. He divided the land of Canaan among the twelve tribes of Israel. Each tribe received its allotted territory, fulfilling God's promise to Abraham. And Joshua died at the age of 110.
Hezekiah’s Bold Prayer
In Isaiah 38, the prophet Isaiah records a miraculous event involving the sun's shadow. Hezekiah, the king of Judah, was seriously ill and Isaiah came to tell him to prepare that he would die. Hezekiah was a good king in the eyes of the Lord. Hezekiah demonstrated trust and faith in the eyes of the Lord. Isaiah 38:2-8 tells us that King Hezekiah prayed. Hezekiah’s bold prayer gave him an addition of fifteen years to his life and God gave him a sign as confirmation. The sign involved the shadow cast by the sun on the sundial, or "dial of Ahaz," which was a device used to measure time. God said that He would make the shadow go back ten steps on the sundial. This meant that the shadow would reverse its movement, as if the sun had gone back in the sky, essentially reversing time by ten steps. God fulfilled the promise by showing a sign by sending back the sundial ten steps behind in time. This extraordinary event served as a sign of God's power and faithfulness, demonstrating His ability to intervene in the natural order of things in response to the prayers of His people.
God’s Control Over Time and Nature
Overall, Isaiah 38:8 illustrates the theme of God's control over time and His willingness to respond to the prayers of His faithful servants with signs and wonders. This shows God’s affairs with humanity. In Joel 2:31, when the day of the Lord comes, He will do many things like pouring out His Spirit on all mankind. Sons and daughters will prophesy. Old men will dream dreams. Young men will see visions. Verse 31 says the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. God has control over nature. Let's see how: Matthew, Mark, and Luke say the sun grew dark at the crucifixion. Matthew 27:45 says, "Now from the sixth hour, darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour, and about the ninth hour, Jesus gave up His spirit."
In Genesis 1:3, it says, "Let there be light." In Hebrew, it is "iei aur" – “He Be Light.” John 8:12 (NIV) says, "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" Ani aur – I am the light. God will extinguish the sun in Revelation 21:23, which says, "And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb."
Conclusion: Bold Prayers in Faith
By our little faithful and bold prayers, God can intervene in the order of His creation. Joshua prayed for the sun to be silent. God intervened in the order of creation, causing the sun to remain in the sky until the victory was won. Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed for a life extension. God intervened in the order of creation, gave him 15 years of additional life span, and also moved the sun to go back ten steps as a sign. Because God said, “Ani AUR” – I AM THE LIGHT.
Today, if you have a bold prayer, take the prayer in faith. God is going to stop the earth and the moon for your faithful and sincere prayer.
