2 Samuel 18:1-19:8; Jeremiah 2:1-3:5; Galatians 4:1-20
And they fled before the men of Ai. Joshua 7:4
Jericho had been conquered and the Israelites were euphoric. Then triumph turned to the disaster of defeat at the small garrison of Ai. The barrier to blessing was sin in the camp and it had not been detected because the attack on Ai had not been done prayerfully. Consultation with the divine Commander would have produced the knowledge of internal problems and the attack would have been delayed as the problem of Achan’s sin was sorted out. Prayer could have avoided defeat. There is a lesson here for us today. —Paul Young
Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,
The Christian’s native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heaven with prayer.—James Montgomery