Wednesday, March 2, 2016

March 3, 2016

"On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
 and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.

So the sun stood still,

and the moon stopped,

till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.  There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!" Joshua 10:12-14
Joshua got himself and his people in trouble because he neglected to pray for wisdom and discernment when he met with the Gibeonites. His alliance with the Gibeonites put Israel at odds with the five kings in Canaan and a conflict occurred as a result. This is were we pick up the story here in Chapter 10 of Joshua.
The momentum of the battle had swung in the favor of Joshua and his army but it was obvious to him they would run out of darkness before they could secure the victory so he called out to God in prayer.
Prayer works every time it is tried! When you pray God will respond with a "yes" or a "no" or a "not now". But this time when Joshua prayed he prayed an audacious prayer! He asked God to stop the sun where it was at mid-day to prolong the daylight and allow them to finish the battle.
Because Joshua dared to pray and audacious prayer, God was pleased to answer with a awesome act of Divine intervention - He stopped the sun at high noon position for 24 hours so Joshua could defeat the enemies of God!
That's amazing!
That's what Max Lucado calls a B.H.A.P.!
What's a B.H.A.P.?
It is a Big Hairy Audacious Prayer!
Have you ever prayed a B.H.A.P.?
When?
What happened?
If not, why not?
You know you need to pray a B.H.A.P. (Big Hairy Audacious Prayer) anytime you are confronted by a B.H.A.P. (Big Hairy Audacious Problem).
The Book of Joshua makes a strong endorsement for the power of prayer! It also candidly shows the problems that develop when you neglect prayer.
So why would you neglect to pray over the issues of your life today?