Are You Preparing For Rain?

One of my favorite movies of all time is Facing The Giants.  Based on a true story, It's about a small school whose football team miraculously makes it to the state championship game...and wins!  I like this movie for several reasons.  I like football.  I like winning.  I love to see the underdog win!  But I love this movie most of all because of the encouraging messages it proclaims.  The theme of the movie is that God can do the impossible...if we simply trust Him.  It is a movie about faith and the motivation that faith causes.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when an elderly man who has been praying for revival in the school for several years has a brief conversation with the coach.  He shares the story of two farmers who desperately needed rain.  Both farmers were praying for rain.  But one farmer actually went out and prepared his fields to receive the rain.  Needless to say, the rain fell on the one who had actually done the work to prepare his fields for rain.  His true faith was motivating him to prepare.

I was reading in the book of James recently and was blessed by a couple of scriptures that reminded me of this scene.  (James 2:14)  "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?"  (James 2:18)  "But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."  This brief conversation with this elderly prayer warrior sparked a drastic change in the coach's approach to coaching his team.  The result was a miracle season that ended in a state championship title!

Before my early days of radio broadcasting I would dream of being a radio announcer.  I would hang out at the local station and watch the local announcer.  One in particular spent some time with me.  At home I took a yardstick and taped a microphone to it.  Then I balanced it in the middle of my portable stereo record player by placing some heavy books on the end of it.  I would record myself and the music as if I were a radio announcer.  Sounds weird I know, but it led me to being a radio announcer for several years!  I was preparing for rain, and I didn't even know it was faith back then!  I was attaching some works to my faith.

The question I pose to you is - are you preparing for rain?  First, what are you trusting God in prayer for?  Second, what can YOU do to prepare to receive your answer to prayer?  No...you cannot provide the answer.  But you CAN prepare for it!  That is so cool!  We do have a part in it.  And our part must be motivated by our faith.  If we truly believe God will answer the prayer...then we prepare TODAY to receive the answer.  And in most cases the preparation itself strengthens our faith!  So...if you're praying for rain...start preparing for rain!