Daily Thought

Having crossed the river Jordan, the people of Israel now faced a prolonged war to conquer the Promised Land. This meant that enormous responsibilities fell upon the shoulders of Joshua, their God-ordained leader. No doubt these lay heavily upon him as he scouted about in the region of the city of Jericho, and plotted Israel’s assault upon that first major obstacle of the campaign.

So it was that Joshua met God ‘by [or, near] Jericho’, and learnt that the city would fall, not through Joshua’s planning but because of his obedience. Here Joshua came to recognize who was in command, for God revealed Himself as ‘a man with his sword drawn in his hand’. Immediately Joshua questioned Him as to whose side He might be on, implying a sort of alliance, with Joshua in commanding role. However, here was the ‘captain of the host’ and Joshua recognized his superior and bowed before Him in genuine reverence of heart and mind.

True prayer is an encounter with God, and involves recognition of the superiority of the Lord, and the acknowledgement that God is great and we are utterly dependent upon Him. Joshua came to realize this truth, and so the responsibility for the campaign rested less on him and supremely upon the Lord.

We notice that this encounter was two-way, and Joshua asked the question, ‘What saith my lord unto his servant?’. Do we seek directives from the Lord as we come to Him in prayer? God’s answer was to emphasize His holiness. This is one of the great themes of scripture, with holiness being the one attribute which God would have His people remember Him by, more than any other. So like Moses before him, Exod. 3. 5, Joshua took off his shoes and realized that to stand in the presence of God was to stand on holy ground.

Reverence, holiness, and obedience are vital characteristics when we approach God in prayer. All that is defiled by contact with this sinful world should be removed, and then we can begin to know the power and victory of believing prayer.