Joshua 3:8 - And you shall command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When you have come to the brink of the water of Jordan, you shall stand still in Jordan.
Are you facing a situation that is like the River Jordan? The Israelites had been given the Promised Land. God had told Joshua that every place he put his feet would be his. Now all he needed to do was go put his feet on the land and claim it as his inheritance. That would seem to be a simple enough task to do, but there was just one little complication. He could not reach the land, because a raging river stood in his way.
What do you do when God has told you to do something and the way seems blocked? Perhaps you have been given a clear instruction from the Lord. You know that you heard right, and it has also been confirmed. So you step forward boldly to carry out this plan, and suddenly it looks as though the door has slammed shut in your face. You cannot go on, because of a huge obstacle that stands in your way.
If you know with a certainty that God has called you to go the way you planned, then do not for one moment entertain the idea that maybe you heard wrong. Do not think for one moment that God has changed His mind. Don't think that perhaps you have messed things up and now the Lord has cancelled the plan. On the contrary, this is a clear sign that you are going the right way. It is now that your faith is tested to the limit, and you have to rely completely on the Lord and on His Word alone.
God told Joshua to instruct the priests to take the Ark of the Covenant and to walk right into the water. They had to take a step of faith and obey God, irrespective of what the circumstances were saying. But he gave a further instruction that was very important. He told them that once they had walked into the water, they should stand still. The only action they needed to do was walk into the water. Then they had to keep standing.
Many people try to exercise their faith by praying or speaking forth the Word in boldness and confidence, but then they stop. They think that if God is going to do it, then He is going to do it. If it doesn't happen, well then either their faith wasn't right, or God is not going to answer this time. They think of the prayer of faith like the firing of a rifle bullet. Either your bullet hits the mark, or it misses.
But the prayer of faith is more like a laser beam. It needs to be concentrated on the target and kept there. It's a bit like the way you use a magnifying glass to set fire to paper. You hold it to the sun and concentrate the rays on a piece of paper. Then you hold it there until the paper begins to smoke and hopefully catch flame. There has to be continued exposure to the rays before the result is achieved.
The prayer of faith is like that. It is not a once off shot that does not need to be repeated. Many have misunderstood this principle. They think that to pray again means you did not pray in faith the first time. But the prayer of faith is not just submitting a request to the Lord. It is the releasing of the power of God into the earth through His Word. And the longer that power is held on the target, the greater the results.
So it was not enough for the priests to walk into the water. They had to remain in the water. It was not enough that the waters stopped flowing when they stepped into the river. They had to remain in the river to make sure that the waters continued to be blocked. Only once all the people had passed over, were they allowed to cross over themselves. And as they did so, the river returned in flood.
So take your stand now and go boldly into what God has told you to do. But do not think that you can rest on your laurels and stop praying in faith. The enemy will fight you all the way. But as you keep your faith out in the field, and as you continue to be a channel for the power of God, you will continue to see results. And then, when the attack is over, and you have crossed over successfully into your Promised Land, God will give you rest. You will enter into a season of refreshing, and you will know the blessing of the Lord.
