What To Ask For?

You may have heard that Pastor Steven Furtick (Elevation Church in Charlotte) has just released his first book, "Sun Stand Still". It's #1 in the queue, waiting for me to finish the 2 books I'm reading right now. I'm really excited about ingesting what the Lord laid on his heart to pour into these pages. I've heard great things. And yesterday our Youth Pastor here at The Brook (Josh Britt) preached on the verses that inspired this book, Joshua 10:1-15. If you don't know the story, here's the synopsis:

Joshua makes an agreement with a group of people without consulting the Lord.
He is then later (because of his integrity and promise) forced to defend these people from attacking countries. The Lord promises victory.
The battle that ensued was not moving along as quickly as the day, so Joshua literally asked the Lord to "Let the sun stand still..." until Israel had defeated their enemies. And Joshua didn't go into a prayer closet in a tent and make this request either. It's says that he "prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel." GUTS! And here's where it gets good - God answered his prayer! Scripture tells us that "the sun and the moon stood still" - "the sun stopped in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. Never before or since has there been a day like that one...." Amazing!

Last night in my Men's Group, as we talked through the implications of this on our own lives, we asked the question, "Is there reason in my life right now that I need to ask the Lord to cause the sun to "stand still"? And as we talked through this on a literal level - is there some reason why I would need God to actually extend the day - the only answer I could really come up with was "No". But that's not really the point for you & me. The reality is that there IS something in my life I need to ask of him - something that is far bigger and greater than my frail human mind can wrap itself around. And while I may not at this moment even have clarity over the WHAT or the WHY, I'm called to ask. As a child of God, I am literally called by Him to request of Him to do things for the sake of HIS own glory in & through my life that only HE can do. [Meditate on that one for a moment.]

But here's the greater challenge. Have you wondered, "What do I need to ask God to do in my life?" "What is this great thing I should be requesting of Him?" Don't wonder. Don't sit and ponder and make a list. ASK HIM! Yes, ask Him! I know - "So...you're saying I should ask God to tell me what I'm supposed to ask for?" YES. Sound strange? Welcome to the reality of walking with and serving the Almighty Creator of the Universe! Welcome to the world of following the One who readily admits to us that our "ways" are not His ways and our "thoughts" are not His thoughts. But think on this - Romans 8:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit "prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words" and that "the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will". We don't even know what the heck to ask for half the time. But God knows. And if you dare to ask Him...and you dare to patiently wait for Him to reveal it to you in HIS timing...He will blow your mind! 

I don't know about you, but I'm not really in need of the sun to stand still today. (In fact, my son wears me out fast enough that some days I'm ready for it to go down a little quicker! Sometimes we may actually want to yell, "Sun...GO DOWN!") But there is something in my life - some area or circumstance or person or change or work - where I am in desperate need of Him doing a radical work that I could never manufacture on my own. And when I don't know what it is, how it will work, or even why it needs to happen...I ask God to reveal all that to me when He's ready and I'm ready. 

What are you asking the Lord to do in & through your life?