Joshua said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?” Joshua 7 : 7 - 9
Good morning to you all.
The Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the people will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there.” So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same and sprinkled dust on their heads. Joshua said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”
The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction.I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”
Doesn’t the subject tell you what today’s Word is all about? Friends, we know about pain killers, but do we know that there are some prayer killers inside us, which act as the barriers for our prayers? Let us see the background of this passage and also about the first prayer killer.
The wall of Jericho was broken just by the shouts of praises by the Israelites, as commanded by the Lord. They did nothing other than marching around the wall of Jericho for seven days. They marched seven times on the seventh day and when the trumpet was blown, they all shouted the praises to the Lord and the wall of Jericho fell down. But the Lord also has commanded that they should not keep any devoted thing for themselves, but they were to be burnt away. The one who fail to do it would bring destruction on the entire Israelites. As we read Joshua 7, we see Achan took some devoted things for himself and not revealing this to anyone. When they went to conquer Ai, which had very few men, they were routed by the men of Ai. So Joshua prayed to the Lord complaining him, without knowing about what Achan did. At that instant, the Lord pointed out the mistake of Achan to Joshua. Achan knew very well about what God told about the devoted things. Yet he stole something for himself and he didn’t even confess it to the Lord and to Joshua, his leader. So the first prayer killer is ‘the unconfessed sin’.
Are you praying for a miracle to happen in your life for a very long time? Are you longing for the fulfillment of the promises the Lord has given you? Are you taking steps to attain your goals, but failing without even a reason? Are you at the point of giving up your hope? Just think of it. Are you having any unconfessed sin within yourself? If yes, then it may be the reason for all the above questions. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” Just close your eyes for 2 minutes and pray to the Lord right now and ask Him to show you the sins which are acting as the hindrances for your prayers. Then confess them to Him and get your sins washed away by Him. If you want to see the miracles sooner, then don’t delay confessing your sins anymore.
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