Devotionals by Raul Ries

SATURDAY April 18, 2026

Men Marching by Faith

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
Hebrews 11:30

God called Joshua to take the city of Jericho. His men were to march around it for six days, and on the seventh day’s march, on Joshua’s order, they were to shout out loud. When they shouted, the thick walls of Jericho would fall down flat. Can you conceive the faith it took to obey God?

By faith, Joshua obeyed the Lord’s battle plan! Imagine the curiosity of the people in the city when Joshua and his men marched out to Jericho and began to walk around the city’s walls for six days without uttering a word. Then on the seventh day, when they marched around the city in the same manner, Joshua gave his order. The priests blew their trumpets, and his men loudly shouted! What happened? The walls of Jericho fell down flat! The people in the city must have been so shocked.

What if I told the congregation to go down with me to LA, and march around City Hall for six days in silence? Then on the seventh day, as we marched, I would ask them to shout, because God told me He would bring down the walls of the building. People would probably look at me and say, “Are you kidding me?” To which I would reply, “No, I am not kidding you. God told me to do it!” By faith, would you go to LA with me? It calls to question what kind of faith do we really have?

What about the walls we have built around our lives? Walls of pride, fear, unforgiveness, bitterness, anger and resentment need to come tumbling down. I have found that it is through prayer and worship that these walls can collapse. God desires that these walls come down so He can use our lives. We cannot build any kind of wall around ourselves that will hinder our relationship with the Lord or with others that we are called to love. This takes humility and the willingness to become vulnerable.

Think about Jesus. Did our Lord come in humility? In His humanity, He made Himself vulnerable. He came to die for our sin so that we could be reconciled to God.

For He [Jesus] Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation....
~Ephesians 2:14~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!