This weekend I was officiating at the wedding ceremony of my brother’s daughter in the mountains just outside Rawsonville. The ceremony was held outside. The weather forecast said it was going to rain. There was no plan B. So, everybody prayed. I also asked for the Lord’s favour, that He would take the rain to pass south of the wedding location.

When we got there, the wind was blowing the right way for good rains. We prayed. We prayed for favour. Behind the kitchen I saw a small portable canopy decorated with flowers, ready to shelter me and the couple in case it rained …

Under the first row of chairs, I saw a few umbrellas and then I remembered some umbrellas in the back of the bakkie in case it rained …

The wedding started at 16:00 and not one drop of rain fell. At 22:00 the heavens opened and it rained, making up for the rain that should’ve started earlier, but fell to the south.

The umbrellas and the canopy reminded me of the rural congregation who had a day of prayer for rain. A little girl came with her umbrella under her arm …

When we pray, do we pray with a bag filled with faith? Do we pray and believe that it is possible, or do we prepare for in case our prayers aren’t answered? Doubt infiltrates our minds much easier than believing that what we’re asking will come true.

We must take a stand against this. We must pray believing that it will happen: ⁶Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.

God will help us. God will provide for our needs. He wants to help us walk the right way through life. He wants to give us a heap of wisdom, so that we can know which roads to take, and which not.

We must just believe that God will hear our prayers. But it’s not easy. What if God has a different plan with the rain? What if the farmers need the rain more?

This reminds me of the man sitting on the sidewalk as people arrived at a service to pray for rain in the midst of a drought. He said: ”You can pray for rain, but if the wind continues blowing from that direction, it will never rain.”

Humanly speaking, his remark was correct, but for God anything is possible. He is not dependent on the wind to make it rain. That’s why we should pray without doubting. We should pray that God will make it happen, even if it is humanly impossible. We must believe in the greatness of our God and that His will be done, despite the winds of life blowing where they will.

Scripture
James 1:1-8

Reflection
How do you pray?
With faith?
Or with doubts?

Prayer
Father, I don’t always pray with faith, but rather with a bag filled with doubts. Help me get rid of the doubt in my life and help me believe more and more in Your greatness, Your love and Your will for my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.