The Christians Hour

Gene Appel: It's time now for The Christian's Hour. Welcome to our weekly program filled with teaching straight from God's word. How big is the biggest prayer you've ever prayed? Jesus taught us to pray our Father in heaven. So right off the bat, Jesus says two things you need to know when you pray. You got a God who loves you. Your God is your Father and Father's love to bless their kids. And second, he's in heaven. So he is not contained and he is not confined by the realities of the earth. So don't pray thinking, well, that's just kind of like out of this world.

That's where God lives. God doesn't take orders from the earth. He gives orders. We can ask him to move mountains because he made them in the first place. We can ask him to displace the enemy and defeat other gods because they answer to the one true God. You see what prayer is? Is a defiant act of resistance and rebellion against the way things currently are. Through prayer, we are asking God, just like Joshua, to come into history and intervene on behalf of his people to accomplish his mission. And we don't have to ask small because our audacity will never exceed God's capacity.

Our audacity in prayer will never exceed the capacity of God to answer. That's why John could say, this is the confidence we have in approaching God. That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. We don't have to be afraid that we have prayed too big if our prayer will bring glory to God and spread the salvation of Jesus throughout the world. I believe God still wants his church to witness the outrageous. He doesn't want a dull, stuck church that has become so used to subnormal that it thinks it's normal. One of the first mega churches I ever heard of was Charles Spurgeon's Great Tabernacle Church in London in the 1800s.

Five young college students one summer wanted to go here. The great man preached, got there early to get a seat. The doors were still locked. The old man saw them on the sidewalk and said, would you like to go and see the heating plant in this church? And it's July, but they don't want to offend the old man. They follow him down some steps and through a long hall, and the old man creaks open a door and they peek inside. 700 people were on their knees praying for the services later that day. And the old man said, my name is Charles Spurgeon, and this is my heating plant.

The courageous see the outrageous because they ask for it. You see the courageous see the outrageous not only because they don't pray small, but because they don't stay still. Joshua didn't just give God a wish list. Joshua enlisted. Remember it says they marched all night. Give you some context. That was a 25 mi march from where they were to where the battle was fought. And it was uphill 4,000 ft. So basically in one night, his army with all their military gear on their back did a marathon. They showed up. He wasn't asking for outrageous intervention without his own courageous participation.

In other words, he backed up his ask with action. He said, God, you make the sun stand still and we won't. We will move. You know, sometimes people talk about, oh, we're just waiting on the Lord like God is some old guy that's out of breath and, hey, I can't catch you all wait for me. I'll catch you up. Are you kidding me? People say, I just want God to show up. God's everywhere. And so if the church is stuck and stagnant, it's not because God doesn't show up. It's because we don't. We want to ask God to do the impossible, but we don't want God to ask us to do the uncomfortable.

But God still grants the outrageous to the courageous. This is my favorite prayer in the Bible. It's in Acts chapter 4 and here's the background. For the first time in history, the church is told, stop talking Jesus or you'll be persecuted. And they were told by the people that had the power to do it. Now, instead of picketing downtown or ranting on Facebook, this is what the church did. They got together for prayer meeting. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Now, wait a second. That's what got you in trouble.

That's what this is about. They told you to shut up. You're asking for courage to talk louder. And that's not all they're asking for. They want to see the outrageous. So they say, stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. They're saying, God, we're ready to move. And after they prayed, place where they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. They were even more courageous because they asked for it. And they didn't stay still.

Now, Joshua's ancestors stood still. They had a chance to cross the river and possess the land and they got scared and they're buried out in the desert. But Joshua led a generation that moved. They gave to their children and to their grandchildren a future in the promised land. We want the next generation to remember us as people that witnessed the move of God because we moved with him. When you ask to do something bold and brave, he'll never give you an answer that's so easy you can do it in your flesh. Bill Hybels, the pastor of a large church in Chicago, says there's a member of his church that says, pastor, I need one thing from you.

Just once a year, will you take me to breakfast or lunch and tell me I'm not crazy. He goes on to explain that I'm very generous with my money. And my business partner and my accountant and my lawyer and my investment advisor, they all think I'm crazy. And I just need once a year for you to look me in the eye and say the kingdom of God is worth it and you are not crazy. The great missionary William Carey put it this way. Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God. We want to pray big and we want to show up just like Jesus did.

You've never prayed a more courageous prayer than he prayed in Gethsemane. And you've never moved a more courageous move than he made at Calvary. And there's never been a day like it. In Joshua 10, the sun kept shining in the middle of the night. But at Calvary, the sun stopped shining in the middle of the day because God was fighting for his people. What a day. Do you understand how outrageous your salvation is? Even the sun had to witness and speak. And so we need to pray and we need to live like a people for whom the victory has already been won.

And so this week when you pray, my request is that you have the courage to ask for more courage. That's a bold prayer because if you ask God for more courage, then that means you might start confronting that sin or that addiction you've been hiding. If you ask God for more courage, that means that that neighbor or that coworker might finally hear the gospel from your lips. If you ask for more courage, that means that you might finally say, I'm sorry, or that you might finally tell someone, I forgive you. And I'm asking that you have the courage to ask for more courage because John said, this is the confidence we have in approaching God.

If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. Well, how about you? Do you pray bold prayers? Are you coming before the Father asking him courageously to work in your life and in your circumstances? Are you willing to trust him with the impossible and stand confidently on what he has already revealed about himself and his promises? You know, Joshua's prayer reminds us that courageous faith is willing to ask God for what seems impossible, but it's also trusting God with that answer. So don't stand on the sidelines because of fear or worry. Bring your prayers to the one who reigns supreme over everything.

And let me encourage you today. Don't be afraid to pray courageously. Ask, trust, and then watch with expectation to see what God may do. Well, our thanks to Rick Astley for that teaching today. And our thanks as well to Josh Wright for that music of worship. If you'd like to hear this message again or listen to other messages from this series, visit our website at thechristianshour.org. You can also find The Christian's Hour streaming on Apple Podcasts and Google Play. And we would like to courageously ask you, would you step out and become a financial partner with us as we take the name of Jesus to unreached people and unchurched areas of the world through Gospel Broadcasting Mission.

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