believe in the power of prayer - and act like you believe it

The other day I had to change my windshield wipers. We haven’t had a lot of rain lately, but the windshield gets dirty so I use the washers a lot, and that involves the wipers. One of them shredded when I turned it on the other evening.

While visiting with the folks at the garage (if you’re local I highly recommend ROY 66) we were talking about praying for rain, but it didn't seem to matter who was praying, we still didn't have much precipitation.  Eventually I said something about needing to get the wiper situation taken care of because the weather forecast included rain or snow, and one of the guys said that since I got the windshield wipers, the weather would probably be warm and sunny for the near future. That reminded me of a story I once heard about prayer:

                The land was dry. There had been no rain for months, there was little water to drink and forget about watering your lawns or gardens. There was no water for irrigation or caring for livestock. The rivers were low, and the creeks and streams had dried up and were little more than mud puddles. The people were at their wit’s end.

                A pastor suggested that the town come together to pray for rain. To pray for rain not quite like in the days of Noah, but certainly enough to fill the reservoirs, and to bring the streams, creeks, rivers and the lake back up to normal levels. That they pray for water for their crops and their cattle.

                They set a time for everyone to gather in the town square, and as the time approached, so did the people. Finally it was time for the prayer meeting to start, and the preacher came to the podium, looked out at the crowd, shook his head, and said, “You all might as well go home; this isn't going to work”.

                The crowd was understandably upset, they were sure that this was going to be the answer to the drought problem. Finally someone asked the preacher why he was sending them home instead of leading them as they lifted their voices in prayer as they had planned.

                “Well”, said the preacher, “obviously you don’t think this is going to work. We came here to pray for rain, lots of rain, and not a single one of you brought an umbrella”.

                Don’t just say you believe in the power of prayer. Act like it!

                (By the way, it did rain a little bit yesterday.)