Sun Stand Still

    It always amazes me how God can speak to us in the most random ways. This week God has been speaking to me about prayer. It started with my 5 year old daughter Allie. I love that God is already using her and she doesn't even know it.  She came up to me the other day and in her sweetest voice asked "Mom, can I have a cookie?" And I said "no" because I was getting ready to make dinner. Then she asked again "please Mom just one cookie?" I looked at her and in that moment was overwhelmed with love for her and said "Okay, you can have one cookie." And then she did something extremely bold.  She looked at me with her sweetest face and asked with all the passion and desire she could convey " Mom, can I just have two cookies?"I looked at her and again was so full of love and said "okay my love, you can have two cookies."

    Now, I know what many of you are thinking, you are thinking I was played by my five year old daughter (okay, maybe I was) but in that very moment I said to her "yes love, you can have two cookies" The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said "Love, what do you want from me?" And I realized that God was listening. He wanted me to come to him like a child comes to their parent and ask him for something I desired.

Matthew 7:7-11 says "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, gives him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

    Then, as I was reading my Bible this week I came across a story in the Old Testament.  
Joshua 10:12-15. "On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: "Sun stand still over Gibeon, Moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!" So the Sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies. As it is written in the book of Jashar, The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since. A day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Isreal!" 

    I love this story!!! Can you imagine the bold faith Joshua  must have had to look at the sun and tell it to stop, and believe that God would do it! I want to be audacious in my prayers like Joshua was. I want to pray prayers that go beyond all areas of reason and reality! I want to pray and believe for mountain to be moved, for people to be healed, for lives to be transformed, for provision beyond what we can even imagine, Because we serve a God who tells the Sun to stand still and it does! I know God doesn't answer every prayer the way we want him to, but I still am going to pray the big bold prayers because maybe just maybe he will look down on me and overwhelmed with love say "yes, you can have two cookies."