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Joshua 10:12-14 – Praying through the Bible #67 – A Prayer that was Timelessly Bold
Faithfulness becomes foolishness when faithfulness is not content to rest on God. Rumor has it NASA discovered a “missing day” when doing calculations for satellite positioning. Running the calculations both forward and backward in time, suddenly, the computer stopped, and a red flag signaled, “ERROR.” Apparently the calculations showed a missing day in space in elapsed time. Details made the story even more credible such as naming the scientist, Harold Hill, and his place of business, the Curtis Engine Company, both of which are real. Believers, hungry for validation and argumentation, lapped up the story. There is a place for extra-biblical evidence; archeology can be instructive even when not conclusive. Secondary sources can back up the primary source which must be scripture. Not being mathematical even with my shoes off, I doubted the NASA story. It seemed to me in my perpetual state of mathematical ignorance that a beginning day would be necessary to find a missing day. In other words, it didn’t add up!
That “missing day” is not missing. Scripture mentions it in Joshua 10.
Jos 10.12-13 (HCSB) (12) … Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” (13) And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day.
What happened that day was miraculous, but how time stood still other than the power of God, I do not know nor can I explain or fathom. No doubt the sun looked like it stayed still in the sky, but the sun does not move; the earth does therefore the language is accommodative and geocentric. Unless God installed miraculous gravity, if the earth literally stopped its rotation, gravity would cease. If gravity ceased, “Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess 4.17)!
But this is Praying through the Bible, not Apologizing for Bad Apologetics. So what can we learn? Boldly pray. I doubt we’ll ever see a repeat of that day, because “There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man” (Jos10.14). Boldly pray. God could say no, or wait, or that’s not how I work, possibly I know what’s best for you, or…God could say yes. So boldly pray. Faithfulness is never foolishness when faithfulness is content to pray to God.
Prayer Challenge: I have often wondered if we are too conservative in our prayers out of fear of God saying no, or God thinking us presumptuous. It is easier to live with safe than with faith. Select your petition, and boldly pray.
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