“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.” Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)
Martin L
uther wrote that we should pray with all boldness and confidence as dear children ask their dear fathers. Have you ever gone to your Father in heaven and boldly asked for the impossible? Some of God’s children think it is wrong to ask God for big things. They feel that they are bothering God or that they might seem selfish in their request. Instead they go about carrying all sorts of problems without ever asking their heavenly Father for help.
There is an interesting story in the Old Testament that shows someone who prayed boldly for the impossible. His name was Joshua, Moses’ successor and the general of the armies of Israel. In Joshua 10, we see he faced a huge problem. Several armies joined together to fight against the Israelites, and a major battle began. Joshua’s warriors fought mightily, but they needed more time to complete the victory. The day was coming to a close and darkness was beginning to hamper their ability to finish the fight, so Joshua asked God for the impossible: “Lord,” he prayed, “we need more time. Please let the sun stand still so we can fight in daylight.” The Bible says, “So the sun stood still and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies” (Josh. 10:13). Joshua prayed boldly, and God granted his request.
Joshua wasn’t the only one who asked for the impossible. We read about Elijah on Mount Carmel, David facing Goliath, and Hannah praying for a child. We may never find ourselves asking God for the sun to stand still, to close the mouths of lions, or to have fire sent down from heaven, but there are times when we also find ourselves facing the impossible. Health problems, money issues, family hurts, and shattered dreams may be more than we can handle. Like these brave people of the Bible, we should take our troubles to the God in whom all things are possible, the God who controls the sun, aims the stone, and lights the fire. There are no requests too big for God to handle. He knows that we have big problems that need big solutions. We should not fear to ask the impossible and boldly to seek his help. We just might see the sun stand still or the stone hit its target. Ephesians 3:20 says it well: “[He] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”
Remember that God can do the impossible.
Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours.
Mark 11:24
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