1 KINGS 18:1,41-45; ISAIAH 46:9
A severe drought that struck China’s Yunnan Province in 2012 caused their crops to wither. Everyone was concerned, and in an effort to put an end to the drought, several superstitious customs were observed. When nothing worked, the villagers began accusing the Christians of upsetting the ancestors’ spirits.
These Christians came together to pray. Thunder soon accompanied a darkening of the sky. All afternoon and into the night, there was a persistent downpour. The harvest was spared! While the majority of the villagers did not think God was responsible for the rain, some did and were curious to learn more about Him and Jesus.
One can read about a terrible drought in Israel in 1 Kings 17 and 18. But in this instance, God’s judgment on His people, according to verse 17, caused it. They had started to worship Baal, the Canaanite god, in the hopes that he would give rain to their crops. Then God revealed that He is the only true God and that He alone controls when it rains through the prophet Elijah.
Our all-knowing God longs to hear our cries and respond to our requests. God always answers with His best for our lives, even though we do not always understand His timing or His motives.
🎶 Thou, whose almighty Word
Chaos and darkness heard,
And took their flight;
Hear us, we humbly pray,
And, where the Gospel’s day
Sheds not its glorious ray,
Let there be light!
__ John Marriott (1813)
