But whatever stood in the way, it must yield to his prayer. Accordingly, no sooner did this righteous man issue the com- mand, " Sun, stand thou still vipon Gibeon, and thou moon in the Valley of Ajalon," than all the laws of nature were sus- pended, and the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, till the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it, or after it, that the Lord so hearkened to the voice of a man^"
Here we have seen all the material creation stopped by the voice of prayer. — Now we will refer to another instance, wherein heaven itself is moved, and an angel sent from thence to fulfil the petitions of two chosen servants. Jerusalem was besieged, and utterly incapable of holding out against the enemy who was come against it. But Hezekiah and Isaiah betook themselves to prayer. And what was the result ? An angel was sent from heaven to destroy, in one single night, 185,000 of the besieging army : and the blaspheming monarch, who had boasted that nothing could withstand him, was forced to return immediately to his own country, where he was slain by his own sons, whilst in the very act of worship- ping the senseless idol in which he had trusted for success. For this cause, says the historian, " Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amos, prayed and cried to heaven. And the Lord sent an angel, which cut oiFall the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that cam.e forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword V
One more instance I will mention, in order to shew how im- mediately the prayer of a righteous man succeeds. Daniel had understood, from the prophecies of Jeremiah, that the time for the close of the Babylonish captivity was near at hand : and he set himself to seek more particular instruction from God respecting it, in order that he might be able to take advantage of such circumstances as might occur for the bene- fit of his nation. " I set my face," says he, " unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes : and I prayed unto the Lord my God.'* And now behold the effect ! — " And whiles I ivas speaking and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my suppUcation before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God ; yea, luhile I was speak- ing in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the
vision
^ Josh. X. 12—14. ' 2 Chron. xxxii. 20, 21.