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| Feel Stuck in a Hopeless Struggle? Insights from Joshua’s Prayer Posted: 02 Oct 2012 09:05 AM PDT Do you feel stuck in a hopeless struggle and suspect prayer won’t make a difference? I recommend these insights from the life of Joshua, courtesy of Henry Cloud and John Townsend’s NIV Life Journey Bible. -Adam Forrest Low expectations?Too often we pray with low expectations. Perhaps we pray out of habit or guilt, but there are times when we don't expect God to do anything drastic on our behalf. Perhaps we fear getting our hopes dashed, so we set low expectations for God so that he won't fail or disappoint us. Joshua prayed differently. He asked God to make the sun stand still so that his warriors could continue to fight in daylight. But Joshua didn't expect God to do all the work. He trusted God to do his part — suspend the heavenly bodies — while he did his part, which was to wield his sword and lead his soldiers tirelessly into battle. The Lord hurled hailstones on the Amorites, while the Israelites chased and fought them. Joshua didn't passively wait for God to do everything, but he trusted God to do what God could do [see Joshua 10:1-15].
We worship the same God who has the power to halt the progress of the sun. We do not need to settle for prayers that are weak and filled with doubt or low expectations. We might not need military or solar miracles, but we can pray in faith that God would do what only he can do: resurrect dead marriages, heal broken hearts, rescue a wayward child, transform character, lead us to a job or perform other supernatural acts. As we consider what battles seem hopeless in our lives, we can pray in faith for God to do the impossible. Perhaps we too will see the sun stand still. -From The NIV Life Journey Bible with notes by Dr. Henry Cloud (@DrHenryCloud) and Dr. John Townsend (@DrJohnTownsend)
Learn more about The NIV Life Journey Bible: Find the Answers for Your Whole Life Further reading on big prayersLessons Learned from Trying to Force a Miracle via Mark Batterson (Some styling in this post is a blog-exclusive feature not included in the text of the featured product.) |
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