The Prayer That Stops The Sun

JOSHUA was a remarkable man. He grew up to experience firsthand his nation Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. He saw the miracles of God and trusted Him.

• He spied on the land, and with Caleb, came back with a message of faith - that God would surely help them seize the Promised Land.

• But unfortunately the majority won that day, gripped by fear. So Joshua was thrown into 40 years of unnecessary wandering in the desert.

• Yet he kept his faith in God. No complaining, no blaming God. Eventually God chose him to succeed Moses and take the nation into Canaan.

Joshua had to lead his men to fight their way into the Promised Land. He never doubted God’s promise to Israel.

• We read here in Joshua 10 that five Amorite armies were planning to attack. Joshua went for a pre-emptive strike.

• He led his entire army on an all-night march towards the enemy’s camp, under the cover of darkness so that they could launch a pre-dawn surprise attack.

The distance from Gilgal to Gibeon is about 40km (church to Tuas) and it takes 2 or 3 days on a leisurely pace, but Joshua’s army covered the same distance in one night!

• The long night march took the enemy completely by surprise.

• When the enemy lines broke, the Amorites started to flee into the valley.

• God got into the battle in verse 11: “As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.” (Josh 10:11)

As the sun set toward the horizon, Joshua knew that his time was up. Once it got dark, the enemies would slip away.

• Perhaps he realized that if he didn’t destroy them now, he would have lingering problems. And anything less than a victory would not glorify God.

• So he uttered into this outrageous prayer: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." (Josh 10:12) It wasn’t a private prayer but a public one, before all the people.

• And if you think this is too ridiculous, God answered him! Without delay!

(1) DARE TO SAY GOD-SIZED PRAYERS

Joshua has the audacity to ask God to do something, not just miraculous, but unbelievable and unprecedented.

• The fact that he could even thought of that was remarkable. Faith knows no limits, because with God, nothing is impossible. Joshua believed in a BIG God.

• Have you ever asked God for the impossible? Does your unbelief limit what God can do for you? That is, you believe God only for the achievable, the believable, and so you pray only DECENT prayers; prayers that are more reasonable.

When PETER saw Jesus walking on water, he did not stretch out his hand to help Jesus get onboard. Instead he asked to be allowed to do the same – walk on water, and get to where Jesus was!

• In Acts 3 he saw a man crippled from birth and said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6)

• James says, “ELIJAH was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” (James 5:17-18)

Prayer is the arena where our faith meets God’s abilities. We can pray prayers worthy of the God we’re praying to.

• “Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 27 "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jer 32:26-27)

• We worship the same God. The only difference is Joshua, Peter, and Elijah had the audacity to pray prayers that lived up to God’s mighty power and glory.

Could it be that we are not see as much of God’s greatness because we have been making timid prayers? We have not been asking more than the natural.

Let us go beyond just timid prayers – giving thanks for the food I eat, asking God for a good weather, heal me from the flu, or help me pass my exams or finish my project on time. These are worthy prayers but we can go farther than that.

• We don’t have to worry about ever putting God in an awkward or embarrassing position. You’re not going to back Him into a corner. You won’t ever challenge Him to do something beyond His aptitude.

• Let’s stretch our faith and ask God for the supernatural. Ask for what He is capable of doing. We do the natural, and trust God to for the “super” and we will see His supernatural works in our lives.