Sun Stand Still
Reclaim your audacious faith and discover what happens when you dare to ask God for the impossible in Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick.
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EXCERPT
Ten Dimensions of a Sun Stand Still Prayer
Based on the book, Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick
You have no idea how much it goes against the grain of my personality to write ten dimensions or five truths or steps to anything. In my experience, not much in life happens according to a defined numerical order or other rigid process. Especially when it comes to prayer.
But on the other hand, theres nothing closer to my heart than my desire for audacious faith to be more than a concept you read about in a bookand then forget. I want to bury it in your soul. I want to make it a permanent part of your character. I want to shoot it like an arrow into your future.
And so, to help you remember and apply what Ive been teaching, I ask you to take hold of the following truths and steps as your personal action plan to live and pray audaciously for God. Burn them into your imagination and memoryand put them to work in your life.
FIVE TRUTHS ABOUT SUN STAND STILL PRAYERS
Truth 1: A Sun Stand Still Prayer Is Audacious
To be audacious, a Sun Stand Still prayer addresses a need or a goal that is far beyond your ability to meet it. You know it will never happen unless God intervenes. But it also shouldnt be outside the realm of your personal faith capacity. The Bible talks about different measures of faiththat each of us should use what we have. And so a Sun Stand Still prayer should be so big that you could never achieve it on your own, but it shouldnt be bigger than your ability to believe that God can achieve it.
You may not be ready to pray that God could make your family computer business the next Apple. But you could conceivably pray that God would enable you to operate with total integrity, give 10 percent of your revenue to alleviate poverty, and have one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry. Or something like that. Start there.
Truth 2: A Sun Stand Still Prayer Is Specific
Make your Sun Stand Still specific: in fact, the more specific it is, the better. I want to bring God glory through my life isnt nearly as good as, By the time I leave this job, I want to earn the right to have a conversation within my department about my faith in Jesus Christ. If your Sun Stand Still prayer is too vague, you wont know what corresponding actions to take to bring your faith to life.
Write it down. Commit to it. Put it in a place that will remind you to pray and inspire you to act. And when God answers, write that down tooit will become a memorial that will inspire you to pray audaciously as a way of life.
Truth 3: A Sun Stand Still Prayer Doesnt Have to Be Permanent
Your Sun Stand Still prayer doesnt have to last forever. Ive prayed Sun Stand Still prayers that were accomplished in three weeks. I thanked God and moved on to a new Sun Stand Still prayer. On the other hand, Ive got some Sun Stand Still prayers that have been in process for years. Im still standing in faith and trusting Gods timing on those.
Truth 4: A Sun Stand Still Prayer May Be Too Personal to Share with Others
Personal Sun Stand Still prayers are often the most important ones. Some of the sin issues youre dealing with may be embarrassing, or some needs you face may be demoralizing. When you find an area of your life in which the need is so personal that you dont even know how to talk about it, youve found a good foundation to build a Sun Stand Still prayer on.
Truth 5: A Sun Stand Still Prayer Thrives with a Team
Faith is contagious. You will be empowered when you surround yourself with people who will help to bear the burden of your Sun Stand Still prayer. Theyll help you keep the vision in sight when theres nothing to see. Theyll remind you of Gods faithfulness when your own faith is faltering. Theyll increase the effectiveness of your prayer exponentially by joining their faith with yours.
I dont know exactly where youll find this kind of community. It will probably look different depending on your stage of life. Most Christians find their faith team through the local church. Not just the Sunday morning gathering, either, but also small groups where you can dig deeper. The important thing isnt necessarily where you find this support but that you do find it. No ones faith can survive for long alone.
Based on those five truths, lets explore the practical steps to making prayers of audacious faith an everyday part of your life.
FIVE STEPS TO A SUN STAND STILL PRAYER
Step 1: Activate Your Audacious Faith
Reject passivity and fear. Seize the initiative because you know who God is. He is good, and he is strong. Agree with God that he has called you to a larger purpose for your life that will bring him glory. This is your Page 23 vision, and its always a purpose that only he can accomplish.
Step 2: Approach God with Boldness
Come before God with confidence, making your request to him (we called it building a case) based on his proven character, the promises in his Word, and his actions in the past. This does not mean his answers are in any way connected to your worthiness. Rather, pray humbly, based on grace, because you dont want what you deserve.
Step 3: Ask Specifically for What Is Humanly Impossible
Like Joshua, speak your exact request to God without mumbling or hesitation, believing that nothing is impossible with him. Because if we have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to perform. And you have now chosen to see your situation from Gods point of view, not yours. Youre asking for something that only he can accomplishand that only he can take credit for.
Step 4: Advance Toward the Answer
To advance toward the answer, you must push while you pray. Joshua didnt just pray for a victory in battle. He marched all night so that he would be in a position to defeat the enemy when God answered his prayer. Jonathan didnt just believe that God might give him the victory at the top of the cliff; he started climbing the cliff. Audacious faith means that you are willing to become the answer to your own prayer. Make your move. Be prepared to work hard, and stick with it.
Step 5: Give God All the Glory
When God does the impossible, give him all the glorythe credit, honor, and thanks he deserves. As we say often at Elevation Church, what God has done among us is so big that theres nobody to blame but him. The stories of our Sun Stand Still prayers are ours to tellbut the story itself is always all about Jesus.
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Excerpted from Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick Copyright © 2010 by Steven Furtick. Excerpted by permission of Multnomah Books, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.