Strength Through Prayer
What is your first response in a crisis? Do you turn to your spouse or a trusted friend? Do you try to work out a solution on your own?
While these are natural responses to the challenges of life, God desires that we turn to Him first. When we seek the Lord in prayer, He supplies the supernatural ability to face any situation. This is the meaning of Life Principle #17: We stand tallest and strongest on our knees. The people of Israel learned this lesson at the battle of Jericho. They fought not on the basis of man’s strategy but according to the divine guidance Joshua received through prayer.
Following a God-given Strategy Read Joshua 6.
Typical ways to attack a city in ancient times included breaking through the gates, going over the walls, or sneaking in through weak areas. Sieges were another possibility. An army could also draw the enemy away from their fortified city, and then attack. The strategy Joshua received was far more radical than any of these approaches.
Notice that they were to walk silently (v. 10). While we don’t know for sure if they prayed, they certainly had the opportunity to do so.
When the people shouted and the trumpets blew, the wall of Jericho fell (Josh. 6:20). Some people assert that the walls fell because of the loud noise that occurred when the people shouted and blew the trumpets.
God told the Israelites to destroy all the residents and their livestock (Josh. 6:17-18). This seems unnecessarily harsh to us today, but the Lord knew the future. In later battles, when the Israelites spared the people, the foreigners eventually influenced the Israelites to worship false gods (see Deut. 20:16-18). Another consequence was that the conquered peoples returned to attack the Jews later.
In the middle of the story of the conquest of Jericho, there is a story of grace and redemption. Rahab, a prostitute in Canaan, converted to Judaism and joined the Hebrew people.
Application The Israelites had spent their lives wandering in the desert. They had little or no military experience. Thankfully, their leader knew that he needed divine guidance to take the city.
God gives us supernatural strength when we turn to Him in prayer. We can’t literally be on our knees in prayer at all times, but we can “abide in Christ” throughout the day. Abiding in Him means we surrender to Him moment by moment and allow His character to flow through us.
God’s instructions may have seemed unwise to Joshua. He may have worried that obeying would make the Israelites look foolish or put them in harm’s way. This story illustrates another Life Principle: God does not require us to understand His will, just obey it, even when it seems unreasonable (#5).
The Israelites were delivered from their enemies. But believers don’t always get delivered from problems. Instead, God may enable us to walk through difficult situations.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the privilege of talking to You, the Ruler of the universe. I admit life’s challenges are too much for me to handle sometimes. Thank You for promising to meet me in prayer and equip me with all I need to succeed. Amen. |