POWERFUL PRAYER

POWERFUL PRAYER:

What a blessing Joshua received from God! Imagine having the great leader and prophet Moses as your mentor:

Watching him stand firm before Pharaoh...

Seeing him lead the Israelites out of Egypt...

Standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai as he returned with the Ten Commandments...

Cringing as Moses went crazy on Israel and disqualified himself from entering into Canaan...

Moses invested in Joshua and it paid HUGE dividends for the Kingdom of God.  

In what the Bible calls the “tent of meeting,” Moses dwelt almost daily in God’s Presence. We read in Exodus 33:11, “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.”

The phrase “be strong and courageous” occurs five times in the book of Joshua. Four of those in the very first chapter.  

Why would God give Joshua this specific message right on the cusp of entering Canaan, i.e. the Promised Land? Shouldn’t a land “flowing with milk and honey” be a place of rest and relaxation? Hasn’t the 40 years of wandering in the desert been enough punishment? Can a guy catch a break?

Today’s view of Christianity is a watered down version of reality. We picture little old ladies with their Bibles walking up the steps of the church. The uber-liberal and scientific communities look at Christianity as outdated mythology and a crutch for those who can’t cope. Many, if not most, people in our churches haven’t the slightest idea what’s actually in the Bible. Those familiar with the content frequently butcher the content and context.

Read the book of Joshua and you’ll find out that entering God’s rest requires strength and courage in the face of enemies.  Entering requires obedience. The word “obey” occurs seven times in Joshua, and at the close of the book Joshua tells Israel, “Be very strong and continue obeying all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you do not turn from it to the right or left...”

Entering requires humility. Entering requires strength and courage. Entering requires obedience. Entering requires prayer.

Joshua’s prayer life was so intimate and strong that he had the chutzpah to pray “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon,” and God answered!

Jesus wasn’t speaking metaphorically when, in Matthew 21:21, He said, “you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.” Joshua proved that when God stopped the movement of the entire universe because Joshua - His faithful, courageous, brave, humble, and obedient servant - asked.

The story of Joshua is one that proves faith isn’t a “private thing.” Joshua’s strength, courage, obedience, humility, and prayer life were all the result of Moses pouring into him. Being strong and courageous means you have to be selfless; it looks like Jesus hoisting that Cross up Calvary’s hillside and voluntarily, obediently, and patiently enduring the Cross for the joy of grace.

Invest in a “Joshua” so deeply that they’ll never want to leave the tent of meeting. Model profound, nonsensical, and winsome obedience to God. Epitomize reverence and boldness in prayer. Invest so deeply in your “Joshua” that they can confidently pray “Sun, stand still,” and know that God will answer.

Be strong and courageous in your relationship with God, and others, and the result will be God’s eternal glory. Meet with God. Abide in His Presence. Be strong and courageous, obey, and pray bold time-stopping, universe-altering, and life-changing prayers. Those are the kinds of prayers God loves to answer because then we know without any doubt it was Him.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.” -1 John 5:14

Blessings,

-Kevin

aMostUnlikelyDisciple.com