TOWARDS THE PROMISED LAND…. ——————————————
The Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. When they make a long blast with the rams’ horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead” (Joshua 6:2-5).
It was the end of an arduous journey that consumed forty years and more than a generation to complete. It started from Egypt and would have normally taken forty days to reach the promised land. But God destined otherwise. He instructed the Israelites to shun the direct route and rather take a circuitous route. Between the first Passover they celebrated in a hurry while in Egypt, and their first Passover at Gilgal in the promised land, all but two out of the six hundred thousand Israelites had fallen to death because of their unfaithfulness to God. Only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were selected by the Lord to touch their feet on the land flowing with milk and honey. Indeed “Many are called, but few are chosen” ( Mathew 22:14).
After crossing Jordan and camping at Gilgal for a short time, their next destination was Jericho. It was a city well protected by walls on all sides. Those who are interested in history know that Jericho is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It is the lowest lying city of the world at 258 metres below sea level. Jericho was the first city to be captured by the Israelites in the process of taking possession of the promised land. Incidentally it was also the first city to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority as per the Oslo Accord of 1994. What we read from the book of Joshua was the modus operandi Joshua and his people employed to conquer the city. In fact it was not their plan either. It was the plan of their Supreme Commander, God.
At first sight, it looked nonsensical. They were told to march around the city. Armed men to lead the procession to be followed by seven priests blowing trumpets of rams’ horn. The Ark of the Covenant followed them and behind the Ark the whole of Israel was to march! One day, two days… No! They repeated this routine religiously for six days. And on the seventh day, it was more taxing. On that day they had to circle the city not once, but seven times.
At the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city…..” (Joshua 6:16). And miracle happened in a flash. ‘As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it’ ( Joshua 6:20).
Now let us take a pause. How did Jericho fall? No doubt, it was because of the help they received from heaven. Yet, how did they manage to get it? They obeyed what the Lord commanded them to do. Contrarty to the rebellious nature they exhibited during the past four decades, this time Israelites were meek and obedient. They humbled themselves before the Lord and committed themselves to obey His orders. In spite of this, why did God test them for another seven days before permitting them to enter the promised land?
It is a mystery. And this mystery is at the root of one of the most effective prayers against devil. Hope you have some basic idea about what a Jericho Prayer is. It is a prayer session lasting seven days. Israelites used it to conquer their enemies’ city. We too, employ the Jericho Prayer to conquer our all-time enemies, the devil, his minions, and evil spirits. If you feel that you are under any kind of bondage which hold you back from progressing in the spiritual journey, try this prayer. If you suspect any kind of evil influences over your dear ones or over your property, start the prayer right now. If you are disturbed by anything, the cause of which you couldn’t understand and you fear that something has gone wrong somewhere, rely on Jericho Prayer. When your options are exhausted, and you are convinced that no human effort can solve your problems, turn to Jericho Prayer. I can assure you with all my heart; results are guaranteed.
Jericho Prayer is basically a prayer for protection against evil spirits and to conquer the devil. It has two intentions, first being our protection from everything evil and second being our victory over the evil. It is a battle where we are going defensive and offensive at the same time. Ask anybody who has done it and they will vouch for its efficacy.
For those who are not familiar with this type of prayer, let me explain. We start with a target of seven days to be in prayer. You can do it alone. But I would prefer that you take your entire family along, of course, with their will and consent. There is no point in compelling somebody who is not inclined or interested in this spiritual exercise. Moreover, it would be a real burden and headache as you proceed.
For the first six days we follow the schedule as below:
Start with one Our Father in Heaven, one Hail Mary and one Glory to the Father…. Read Psalm 91 and Joshua Chapter 6 Read Acts 16:25 – 34 Apostles’ Creed One Rosary ( instead of Rosary some people recite the Creed 33 times) Conclude with a Prayer to St Michael.
Keep a blessed candle lighted at the place where you start the prayer, which is usually your prayer room. Complete the starting prayers and readings in kneeling or standing position as your health permits. Apostles’ Creed and Rosary are to be recited while walking around the house/place/property for which you seek God’s protection or from where you want to drive away the influence of evil spirits. To end the day’s schedule, recite the prayer to St Michael at the place from where you started. Keep a bottle of holy water with you and sprinkle it as you walk. On the seventh day repeat the prayers by circling the place seven times instead of one time as you had done in the previous six days.
I am recommending this prayer with full confidence as I have gone through many cases where this prayer produced unbelievable results. One of them being the deliverance from wild elephants that regularly raided the farms of a religious institution. Having failed in their efforts to get rid of the herd of wild elephants destroying their entire crops, they turned to Jericho Prayer as the last resort. Believe it or not, from the seventh day onwards the herd of elephants stopped their march exactly at the border of their farmland, waited there for a moment and turned about silently!
Try and benefit from it. And do not forget to share this to your dear ones who are desperately in need of it. Remember, ‘like a roaring lion our adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). This prayer will help us not only to get protection from his claws, but break the walls of his citadel, enter his den and conquer him also. As we are fighting a fierce spiritual battle, augment our armory with Jericho prayer. It will help us in conquering the posts of our eternal enemy in our forward march to the promised land, the Kingdom of Heaven. But beware! Those who embark on this rather unusual prayer will be mocked by scoffers for whom it is nothing but a futile exercise. No wonder, the people of Jericho also thought the same till the long trumpet blew and the Israelites shouted and their city walls collapsed on the seventh day.
” Let God rise up, let His enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God’ (Ps. 68:1).
