Sun Stand Still

What do you do when the odds are stacked against you? What do you when you are in the thick of the battle but time is running out before the victory is secured? That is exactly the plight Joshua and Israel found themselves in the tenth chapter of Joshua. Joshua and Israel battled, not against just one king and army but, rather five kings of the Amorites and five armies.

The odds were stacked against them for sure. God intervened. He sent large hail stones on the enemies. In fact, more people died from the hailstones than by the edge of the Israelite swords. God helped Israel that day. Yet the victory had not been secured.

At this point Joshua prayed an audacious prayer and called something into being that had never happened before and has not happened since.

Joshua 10:12-13 (NKJV)
12  Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."
13  So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

Did you catch that? Joshua spoke to the LORD. He prayed. He pleaded with God for help. Then he said, "Sun stand still." By faith he believed in something that had never been done before or since. He believed God to keep the sun up so they could finish the battle in the daylight. We learn the sun stood still and did not go down for a whole day. If I understand this it means for two whole days the sun did not set so Israel could defeat the armies of the Amorites. 

Joshua talked to God. God put an audacious prayer in his heart and he believed God to do it. What is your "sun stand still" prayer today? What is that impossible thing God puts in your heart? I have so many. Let me quickly relate two of them. I am believing God to make "the sun stand still" to remove and eliminate all debt for Brenda and I personally. That means believing God to pay our house off in full, to NEVER go in debt to purchase another vehicle and to live debt free. Why you might ask? For two reasons. To see God pay off all my debt, including our house, is another way we can glorify God. We can't do that, at least not in the short term. in our ability.  God can. He can command the sun to stand still. 

I heard the story of God doing this very thing for a minister. One day a friend contacted him to inform the Lord wanted him to pay off the minister's house in full. Sun stand still. Just like that the minister received an unbelievable blessing. That encourages me that what God did for my brother He can also do for Brenda and I. I believe Him for it and ask for it repeatedly. 

The second reason I pray and believe God for this "sun stand still" prayer is to be able to give more money to the kingdom of God. I want to give to God's causes extravagantly. I want to bless others as Brenda and I have been blessed over the years. This again glorifies God. 

My second "sun stand still"  prayer is to be able to reach hundreds of lost souls. Parker County where I serve is about to grow dramatically in the next decade. It already has begun. The population is expected to explode to close to 330,000 people. Just a few years ago the county population was not even 100,000. The thought of all these people coming keeps me awake at night praying. I think of all those lost souls. Parker County has several mega churches. They will not reach all those people. Even the largest churches do not even have 5,000 attenders. I serve a small congregation. Yet God has birthed a "sun stand still" prayer in me for unprecedented growth and for future building projects ALL DONE DEBT FREE. That looks impossible from my seat this morning. We still owe $109,053 on our current facility. How could a small congregation of less than 50 ever reach many of those 330,000 people and also become debt free? We cannot reach all of them but we can reach some. I devote myself to that task. I trust God has a way for us where there seems to be no way. 

There you have my two "sun stand still" prayers. What about you? What is your audacious impossible prayer? Is God big enough? Is He strong enough? He is resourced enough to finance your impossible prayer? Is He wise enough to show you the way to get from where you are to where He wants you to be? CAN GOD MAKE THE SUN STAND STILL TODAY? I BELIEVE! I believe Him to show His power and might for His children to glorify His name just as He did for Joshua and Israel. So in the name of Yahweh and Jesus I declare by faith, "SUN STAND STILL," in your life and mine. Amen and amen.