Sun Stand Still

The chase was on, one army in hot pursuit of a fleeing army. The good guys chasing the bad guys. The day was fading into dusk. It appeared the enemy might slip away into the night avoiding capture. That is until the captain of God's army prayed an unusual prayer. Unusual is not even the word for it. Prayed an audacious prayer. A bold prayer. An outlandish prayer. An extraordinary prayer. A prayer that had never been prayed before that day in human history. Maybe some would even say a ludicrous prayer. 

Here it is, "Sun stand still over Gibeon and moon, in the valley of Aijalon." [Joshua 9:12b) That's it. Twelve words in all depending on what translation you read. It was a prayer voiced to God by Joshua. Whoever prayed a prayer like, "Sun stand still." That is not in the natural order. It defies the laws of nature. Who even imagines such a thing? Joshua. What motivated him to pray such a prayer? Desperation. 

We learn in verse 13 that the sun stood still in the sky and the moon stopped. That happened until Israel had revenge on their enemy. God did something way beyond the ordinary. We call it extraordinary. God did something beyond the natural. We call it supernatural. 

This truth hits us as to whether we believe God CAN still do that and whether He still DOES do that in our day.  Does God still do supernaturally extraordinary things in response to desperate prayers? I believe He does!

Do we have the kind of faith to even ask God for a sun stand still type of prayer. So big, so beyond normal that most people think we have lost our marbles to pray prayers like that. Big prayers in big situations gives God big glory. 

Nothing is impossible with God. Even making the to sun stand still. When all was said and done that day the sun stood still in mid sky an extra day. That allowed Israel to finish defeating their foes. 

What if Joshua had not prayed the sun stand still prayer. The sun would have set like normal. They enemy might have escaped. The pursuit and battle would have extended. God would not have been glorified in such a dramatic way. What if we do not pray our own sun stand  still prayers. Miracles will be missed. Hardships will not be broken through. Our faith will not grow. So go ahead. Reach down deep in your soul. Let it come out, your very own sun stand still prayer and wait and watch for what God does next.