What is audacious prayer?

Audacious means daring, big, bold, brave, fearless or courageous.  Audacious prayer is a prayer for rain to stop and start (Elijah), sun to stand still (Joshua), life to be restored (Elisha), sick to be healed (Peter), show me your glory (Moses), defend the weak and the fatherless upholding the cause of the poor and the oppressed (Asaph), a child to be born (Hannah), bless me (Jabez), etc.

Psalm 145:14-19 (NLT) promises “The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.  The eyes of all look to you in hope; you give them their food as they need it.  When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.  The Lord is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.  The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.  He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.”

According to James 5:15 (NLT) “Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well.  And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.”

The Bible encourages us to pray boldly.

How bold are your prayers?

James 5:17-18 (NLT) says that “Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!  Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.”

Hebrews 4:16 (NLT) encourages us “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

Boldness in prayer is an uncomfortable thought for many.  For many, audacious prayers might be surprisingly difficult to pray.  All kinds of fears and questions surface: What if I don’t see God answer because I disregard or miss it?  Or what if His answer is ‘no’?  Do I know for sure that this bold prayer is actually God’s will?

Show me the boldness of your prayers and I will show you how big you believe God is.

Habakkuk 3:2 (GNT) “O Lord, I have heard of what you have done, and I am filled with awe.  Now do again in our times the great deeds you used to do…”

Acts 4:31 (NLT) states that “After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.  Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”  Imagine praying with such power that a building shakes.

Five observations about two audacious prayers found in the Bible. Learnings from Joshua’s “let the sun stand still” and Elijah’s “please let it rain” prayers:

Observation one: What are you willing to put in?

Pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on you.
Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)

Joshua 10:7-13 (NLT) “7 So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon.  8 “Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them.  Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”  9 Joshua travelled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise.  10 The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon.  Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah.  11 As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah.  The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword.  12 On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”  13 So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.”

Between the promise of victory from God in verse 8 and the victory in verse 10 there is verse 9: “Joshua travelled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise.”

  • Joshua 10:7 states “So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon.” His entire army: in Joshua 4:13 we read “These armed men – about 40,000 strong – were ready for battle.”  I think it’s safe to say that Joshua took between 35,000 – 40,000 men with him that night on the night march.
  • If you have a look at historic maps, Gilgal to Gibeon is about 20 – 26 miles (32 – 41km) and it was also associated with an uphill climb (probably an elevation-climb of around 3, 500 – 4,000 feet [1,000 – 1,200m]). If you have ever hiked in the mountains, this is a significant climb.  According to historians it would take about 8 to 10 hours of hard marching to accomplish the task.  Take note that previously in Joshua 9:17 it took them 3 days to complete the same journey!

It would not be unrealistic then to read Joshua 10:7 and 9 as follows: Joshua took around 35,000 – 40,000 men lugging weapons and supplies on a gruelling uphill march that lasted all night (8 – 10 hours) in darkness through enemy territory for 32km plus to surprise the Amorite armies.

If you are going to pray for God to make the sun stand still you better be ready to (1) move and act to be in the right place at the right time, (2) do the hard work, (3) be equipped and prepared, and (4) apply yourself mentally, physically and strategically to the task at hand.

So, what are you willing to put in?  For example, God help me to lose weight – then stop eating high calory food or take second helpings.  Help me to get out of debt – then stop making debt using your credit card.  God help me to get healthy – then get out of bed in the morning to exercise.  Then repeat, repeat, repeat…

Observation two: How long are you willing to wait and keep on asking?

In 1 Kings 18:1-46 (NLT) we read “1 Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab.  Tell him that I will soon send rain!”  41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!”  42 So Ahab went to eat and drink.  But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees.  43 Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.”  The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.”  Seven times Elijah told him to go and look.  44 Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”  Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home.  If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’”  45 And soon the sky was black with clouds.  A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel.  46 Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah.  He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.”

  • God gave Elijah the instruction that the drought is over and send him to king Ahab (v1).
  • Elijah acted in obedience to God’s instruction and went (v8).
  • He publicly put himself out there – his reputation and credibility as a prophet (v41).
  • He received an inner vision as confirmation – heard the rain (v41).
  • He prayed earnestly – bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees (v42).

And yet, there was no rain, not even a cloud in the sky!  Seemingly unanswered prayer.  Elijah prayed again, and again, and again and again, and again and still nothing!  Six times he sought the face of God earnestly in reverence, humility, obedience and in faith.  Still no rain.

Finally, the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.”  Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home.  If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’”

What the Bible teaches us about persistent prayer:

  • Luke 18:6-7 (NLT) “Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end.  So, don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night?  Will he keep putting them off?”
  • Luke 11:8 (NLT) “But I tell you this – though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.”
  • Ezra 8:23 (NLT) “So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.”

When we earnestly and persistently pray, God will do mighty things.

Observation three: Where God guides, He delivers

Both Joshua and Elijah acted in faithful obedience to God and God provided – the victory (Joshua) and the rain (Elijah):

  • Joshua 10:8 (NLT) “Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord said to Joshua, “for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.”
  • 1 Kings 18:1 (NLT) “Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!”

Psalm 73:24 (NLT) “You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.”

Observation four: The gift of supernatural strength

From Philippians 4:13 (NLV) we learn “I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.”

To do what Joshua’s army did that night before the battle, travelling a 3-day journey in one night, meant that they should have arrived completely exhausted at the battlefield that morning.  Humanly not in the best condition for battle.  They then not only fought for a whole day, but later Joshua prayed for extra time and they had to fight some more.  Not only did God give them the strength to battle, but also the strength to completely defeat the enemy.

In 1 Kings 18:46 (NLT) we read “Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah.  He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.”  Jezreel is around 50 km from Mount Carmel.  Not bad for a human to keep running that distance ahead of a chariot!

Observation five: Don’t stop until the job is done

Elijah didn’t stop praying until the first cloud appeared and the rain clouds assembled (1 Kings 18:44).

Joshua 10:12-13 (NLT) tells us that “On the day the Lord gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel.  He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.”  So, the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies.”  Joshua prayed for extra time to totally and utterly, achieve what he set out to do.

Staying close to God

When we pray to the Lord, we need to stay close to the Him so that when a breakthrough is near, we can hear His voice, feel His presence and His love and be guided by Him into our breakthrough.

God is saying to truly trust Him, you need to believe that He loves you.  If you believe in your heart that God truly loves you, then you will trust Him and stay close to Him.

Praying a bold prayer doesn’t mean God will always answer us quickly, or as we want Him to, but it is important for us to trust Him and stay close to Him and go through the process or journey He is taking us on, believing that He is at work.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father today I want to echo Habakkuk’s prayer: O Lord, I have heard of what you have done, and I am filled with awe.  Now do again in our times the great deeds you used to do.  In Jesus name, Amen