Praying for Rain
The dryness of this early spring has become a concern to farmers, ranchers, gardeners and to all of us as we realize that the land needs moisture from the heavens in order to produce food for cattle and humans alike. Churches and individuals are all praying for rain from above to come saturate the soil with life-giving moisture.
Just as the land cries out for rain, our nation is struggling with major budgetary issues in order to breathe new life into our government that is on the brink of complete shutdown for lack of funds. It appears that we need some help from above in order to be able to move forward as a nation.
I am reminded of what King David said in Psalm 143:4-6 (NLT) "I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear. I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done. I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain."
Certainly our nation is in need of a fresh rain from God to bless our land and to renew us again. We need for God to heal us and to show us a new vision for the future. We need less partisan bickering and more bi-partisan praying, just as the Founding Fathers did as the first official act of the Continental Congress on September 6, 1774. (http://restore-christian-america.org/congress.html).
Our churches that are in decline need renewal. We talk about needing revival yet there is little hunger and zeal for Christ. We have become a people who are content in their discontent, satisfied with searching elsewhere for solutions to our problems, instead of humbling ourselves before God as King David did so long ago.
Even though the complex issues that frustrate our national leaders seem daunting and overwhelming to most of us, and we are uncertain what should be done in order to move ahead, God is still able to sort it all out. He is the only one who can help us to move forward. He is the one who has the solution to all of our woes, both for us individually, for our churches and for us as a nation.
As we consider the immense problems that we have in our nation, let us not just shrug our shoulders and think that we are powerless. The best and most powerful tool that was available to the Founding Fathers is still available to us today: prayer.
The brother of the Lord, James tells us in James 5:16-18 (NLT) "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops."
As I look out my window right now, the rain is peppering down from the sky, watering the dry ground with life-giving moisture. The Lord has heard our prayers for rain! May we be even more diligent in prayer for our nation and our churches so that God will rain down His goodness and grace upon us. May we humble ourselves before Almighty God and seek His will in our lives, in our churches and for our nation. May the Lord continue to bless our land and heal us of every infirmity!
