Kerry Shook - Umbrella Faith
I heard about a small country church in a rural farming community where just about every member of the church was a farmer, and they were going through a terrible drought in the whole area. So, one Sunday, before the pastor started his message, he said, «Hey, get the word out to everyone that next week we’re all going to come to the church on Sunday, and we’re going to fast and pray and believe God for rain.»
So the next Sunday, the church was packed, and they were all ready to pray for rain. But then the pastor got up and said, «We might as well go home because none of you have any faith.» And they said, «What do you mean, pastor?» He said, «Well, we’re praying and believing God for rain, but nobody brought an umbrella. And when you’re praying for rain, you better bring an umbrella.» I want to talk to you today about umbrella faith, and I want to say, get out your umbrella because God wants to rain down some of His blessings on your life today. I believe that with all my heart. Do you believe God is going to send some rain of His blessings on you? Let’s get out our umbrella faith.
And I want us to look at the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament because he had umbrella faith, and it opened up a downpour of God’s blessings on the whole nation of Israel. Now, let me give you some background before we read the passage. Wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had turned the people of Israel away from God and toward idol worship. In fact, they worshiped the idol Baal, the fertility god who was supposed to bring about great crops and rain, and everything was supposed to be lush and fertile. So they would pray to Baal for their crops to produce.
So God allowed a devastating drought to hit Israel, and it had been going on for three and a half years. And God had allowed this drought in order to get the people’s attention; their pain would push them back to Him so they could experience the outpouring of His grace and blessings, so they could experience the rain of His power in their life. So after three and a half years of drought, God sends the prophet Elijah to give a message to King Ahab. Would you stand in honor of God’s word? It’s in First Kings chapter 18.
And Elijah said to Ahab, «Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.» So Ahab went off to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground, and put his face between his knees. «Go and look toward the sea,» he told the servant. And he went up and looked. «There’s nothing there,» he said. Seven times Elijah said, «Go back.» The seventh time the servant reported, «A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.» So Elijah said, «Go and tell Ahab, hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.» Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling, and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. You can be seated.
Elijah tells Ahab, «You better get your umbrella out because there is the sound of a heavy rain.» Now, when Elijah says this to Ahab, there had been no rain for three and a half years, and they’re on top of Mount Carmel looking out over the Jezreel Valley all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. And here’s the view from the top of Mount Carmel. Chris and I have had the privilege of being there several times. And Mount Carmel looks out over the Jezreel Valley, or the Valley of Megiddo. It’s where the Bible says the last battle, the battle of Armageddon, will take place.
Now, in this picture, the valley is green and fertile, as it normally is. But when Elijah says, «There is the sound of a heavy rain,» it hadn’t rained in three and a half years. There was no sound at all except for probably some gnats buzzing around their faces. I mean, the heat must have been stifling. And I can just imagine dust blowing around from the dry cracked ground that hadn’t soaked up a drop of water for three and a half years, getting in their eyes and in their mouths, dust storms all around, and Elijah says, «There’s the sound of a heavy rain.» Ahab better get his umbrella out because the rain’s coming. But looking out over the top of Mount Carmel, over that valley, all Elijah would have seen would have been brown dead grass and brown dead crops. And Elijah says, «There is the sound of a heavy rain.»
I mean, what was he hearing? But notice he doesn’t say, «I hear the sound of a heavy rain.» He says, «There is the sound of a heavy rain,» even though I can’t hear it. Whether I can hear it in my ears or not, there is the sound of a heavy rain. Elijah couldn’t hear it with his ears, but he heard it in his heart from God, so he spoke it in faith. He couldn’t hear it with his ears, so he spoke it with his mouth. He couldn’t see it with his eyes, so he spoke it with his mouth. And that’s what umbrella faith is. Hebrews chapter 11 gives us the definition of faith. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. So what is faith? It’s the confidence that what God says is real and true, even when we don’t see it yet. And verse three says the whole universe was created by the spoken word of God. By faith we understand that God spoke the universe into existence. There was nothing, and then God spoke, and there was everything. Elijah spoke in faith. He followed his God and he spoke in faith. He said, «There is the sound of a heavy rain,» when his ears heard nothing, and his eyes saw nothing that looked like rain.
And by faith, that nothing turned into everything that God said it would. And maybe you’re going through what feels like a devastating drought in some area of your life. And I know you are; in some area, in almost all these areas of our lives, there’s at least one or two areas right now, more than likely, there’s a drought. Maybe it’s your marriage, and you know it just feels like it’s dying. There’s just drought; it’s not flourishing. Maybe in your finances, you’re going through a little drought right now. Maybe it’s a drought of passion; you just don’t feel the passion, maybe for your job or for life itself. I don’t know what the drought is, but you know deep in your heart God says rain’s coming, but all you can see beneath your feet is dry, cracked ground.
As far as you can see, there’s only dead, hopeless wilderness. And I want to say to you today, when you can’t see it with your eyes, speak it with your mouth. That’s what faith is. Break out your umbrella. You may be in the middle of the desert, but God’s downpour is on the way. It may look like everything is brown and dead, but life is getting ready to break through. Umbrella faith means you start saying it before you see it because if you could see it completely, it wouldn’t be faith.
Now, it doesn’t mean you feel it. It doesn’t mean you never have doubts that the rain is coming. It just means that you stop grumbling and griping, and you speak in faith anyway, and you say, «God, I don’t see it. All I see is desert. All I feel is stifling heat. But there is the sound of a heavy rain coming. And I know Your word is true, and I know You’re going to get me through whether I see it or not. I’m going to speak it anyway.»
Now I’m preaching to myself because so many times when I’m in the desert and all I can see is dry, cracked ground all around me, and I don’t see any life and I don’t see anything changing, I start to grumble and gripe. And it’s okay to go, «God, what are You doing? This doesn’t make sense,» and pour out your heart to God. But then there has to be a switch where I have to say, «God, I don’t see it, but I’m going to say it. Rain’s coming. You’re going to change this situation. You’re going to get me through this. Rain is coming. Your downpour is coming.»
There is the sound of heavy rain. I don’t hear it, but I know it. See, there’s power in our words. There’s power in God’s words. When He speaks a word, it happens. But He’s given us authority and power in our words. I want to know how do I have faith like that? How do I have umbrella faith? I want us to look at how Elijah was able to have that umbrella faith. And to do that, we’ve got to go back to the first verse in chapter 18. In First Kings 18:1, it says, «After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.»
So God gives Elijah a promise that it’s about to rain. God says, «Elijah, it’s been three and a half years of drought, and now you better get your umbrella out because it’s going to rain.» God gave Elijah a promise that He was going to send rain, and faith starts with God’s promises. Faith is birthed out of the promises of God. Hey, Elijah wasn’t just making this stuff up. «Hey, it’s going to rain.» God gave him a promise. Umbrella faith is birthed with a promise from God. That’s why we need to spend time in God’s word. And I say this all the time: there are over 7,000 promises in the word of God. And if we spend time in God’s word, we’ll start learning those promises. If you don’t spend time in the Bible reading God’s word and seeking God and asking Him to help you understand it, then you’re not going to know those promises.
You’re not going to be able to claim those promises. Faith always starts with a promise from God, and sometimes that’s all you have. There are times when all you have to hang your umbrella on is a promise from God. And some of you have been going through a drought in your life that feels like it will never end, but God has given you a promise. Right now, it feels like you’re in the middle of a desert of despair that goes on as far as the eye can see. But God has given you a promise. Right now, when you look around, all you see beneath your feet is dry, cracked ground. But God has given you a promise.
You look up to the heavens, and there’s not a cloud in the sky. But God has given you a promise. If in the middle of the desert, all you have is a promise from God, you cling to that promise because that’s all you need. In the middle of the drought, you hold on to the promise that a divine downpour is coming. If all you have today is a promise of God, that’s all you need. You hold on to that promise; you hold on to your umbrella because God’s word never fails.
By the way, if you go to the sermon notes on the app today, the sermon outline, I have added at the end all these promises of God. I’ve listed a few of the 7,000 promises of God, and I want you to read those and meditate on those this week and maybe memorize one or two and claim them. Let’s look again at First Kings chapter 18, verse 42. So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground, and put his face between his knees. What a contrast between wicked King Ahab and Elijah! They both were experiencing the same drought; they both were going through the same pain, but the pain pushes Ahab into pleasure and the pain pushes Elijah into prayer.
And that’s what pain does. When you experience pain in your life, you have a choice. You can ignore it. You can try to avoid it. You can anesthetize it. And we do a million little things to try to anesthetize our pain, to try to avoid it and run from it. But when you let your pain push you into pleasure, to escape it, deny it, or run from it, it just makes the pain a whole lot worse. God says, «Don’t run from your pain. Let it push you to prayer. Let it push you into My healing arms.» Umbrella faith is born out of God’s promises, but it’s expressed through our prayers.
If I really believe that God is trustworthy and God is what I need and God is powerful, then I’ll pick up my umbrella and I’ll pray. If I really believe that He has to come through for me, I’ll pray. When I don’t trust God’s promises and I think it’s all up to me, I put down my umbrella and I don’t pray. I just try to do things for God or try to fix situations and solve problems on my own that are unsolvable, control circumstances that are out of my control. But when I trust God and I really believe that He’s the one that can change the situation, then I’ll pick up the umbrella and I’ll pray.
Look what Jesus said about prayer in Matthew 7:7: «Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.» God says, «Knock and the door will be opened to you.» Praying is just knocking on God’s door, and God is never too busy to come to the door.
I heard about a pastor who visited a new member of his church, and he went to the house, and it seemed obvious that someone was home, but nobody came to the door, even though the pastor kept knocking. Finally, he took out one of his cards and, trying to be clever, he wrote Revelation 3:20 on the back of the card without writing out the verse, and he stuck it in the door. On the following Sunday, one of the ushers found the pastor’s card in the offering basket and he gave it to the pastor. And the pastor noticed under Revelation 3:20 was the notation Genesis 3:10.
And so the pastor right away got his Bible out and looked up Genesis 3:10. And of course, Revelation 3:20 says, «Behold, I stand at the door and knock.» And Genesis 3:10 says, «I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.» When you knock on God’s door through prayer, He’s always ready to come to the door. He’s not hiding; He’s not trying to keep Himself from you. He’s not trying to hide His will from your life. He’s always there. The doorway to a miracle is faith expressed through prayer. Umbrella faith starts with a promise; it’s birthed with a promise, but it’s expressed through prayer.
And prayer is just knocking on God’s door. Now, why does God want us to pray to Him for little things and big things? Because He wants us to learn to knock on His door so we can get to know Him better and learn that He comes to the door and that He’s trustworthy, and our faith can be built. I mean, you think about it: Why does God want us to pray? He could just give us the things we need. Why that? Why did He give us this power to pray to Him, and our prayers move the hand of God? I really believe nothing happens that makes a difference in this life or for eternity unless someone’s praying.
I’m telling you, every person who’s ever come to Christ at Willan Church, every miracle that’s ever happened, somebody prayed for it. Maybe 10 years ago, maybe 30 years ago, maybe a grandmother, maybe a relative, maybe me, maybe one of our pastors, maybe a friend, maybe someone hundreds of years ago in your family line. Who knows? But I believe nothing happens without prayer. But why does God allow us to have that power, that we can move the hand of God? Why doesn’t He just do what He does? Because He wants us to learn to knock on His door and see that He comes to the door.
And the whole point of God working a miracle in your life is to point you to Himself, the source of miracles. Because the miracle you need most is a deep and genuine relationship with God. And prayer is the doorway to a miracle. But more importantly, it’s the doorway to Jesus, the source of miracles. When Chris and I travel, one of the strange things we do is we like to take pictures of doors. And we find interesting doors and unique doors and beautifully ornate doors, many times that lead into a cathedral.
And there are a lot of beautiful doors in the world, but the most beautiful door to me is the side door of my house. It’s not beautiful because it’s ornate or unique; it’s just plain. It’s ordinary. It’s what’s behind the door that makes it beautiful. And that’s my beautiful wife. So when I come home and I walk through that side door, it’s not the door I’m excited about; I’m excited about what’s behind the door: my wife.
And the reason why the door is so beautiful is the beautiful one behind the door. The reason a miracle is so beautiful is not because of the miracle; it’s the beautiful one behind the miracle, Jesus Christ. And prayer is that doorway to the miracle worker. You see, we don’t worship the miracle; we worship the source of miracles. You worship a miracle, that’s just idol worship. You worship the source of miracles, and God gives us miracles and God answers prayers, small and big. Why? Because He wants us to get to know Him.
So umbrella faith is birthed with a promise and it’s expressed through prayer. So how do I pray with umbrella faith? I want us to look at a passage in the New Testament that talks about this miracle in the Old Testament. There are so many passages in the New Testament that quote the Old Testament or say something about the Old Testament. Jesus quoted the Old Testament. It’s in James 5:17. «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.»
So, at first, God told Elijah to pray that it won’t rain, and it doesn’t rain for three and a half years. Then God tells Elijah, «I want you to pray for rain.» So Elijah goes up to the top of Mount Carmel and he prays a really simple and specific prayer: «God, please bring rain, just as You promised. God, please make it rain just like You promised.» And God answered his prayer. It says Elijah earnestly prayed. He was desperate for God to end the drought with a downpour. He was desperate for God to show that He was real to wicked King Ahab.
Elijah put himself out there. He said, «It’s going to rain. There is the sound of heavy rain. It’s coming. Get your umbrella out, Ahab.» And the land needed rain. I’m sure Elijah’s friends and loved ones and the people of Israel he loved so much — he was their prophet, and he saw them suffering because they had turned away from God, and now they were turning back to God-and oh, how he wanted it to rain. He was desperate for a downpour, and he prayed a really simple, specific, and desperate prayer.
So what is it that you desperately need today? Are you praying about it? How desperate are you? You’re not praying about it; you’re not that desperate. Maybe it feels desperate. It feels like you’re in a terrible drought. You want the downpour, but if you’re not praying, how desperate are you? When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked His disciples, «Pray for me! Pray for me!» I mean, this is the time; this is the time when the weight of the world is on My shoulders, and I need you guys to pray for Me. And He went back to them, and they were asleep. He said, «I need you to pray.» He woke them up, «Pray for Me!»
And He goes back to pray, and then He comes back, and His disciples are asleep again. And He says, «You couldn’t pray for Me for one hour?» And I feel like Jesus has said that to me a lot. «Hey, you’re not that desperate, Carrie. You’re griping to Me, but could you not pray for one hour about this? Have you not prayed for five minutes about this?» You see, if you’re not praying about it, you’re not desperate. You just need to get a little more desperate, and God will allow that. God will allow it to get more desperate until you’re desperate enough to get out your umbrella and pray and pray specifically.
Write down your request specifically; don’t pray generally. Pray for the specific things that you need. That’s why you ought to get a prayer journal. Sure, you can put it in your phone or your notes, but I recommend getting a prayer journal. Just any journal will do, and write down your specific requests and start praying. Then write the date down. Then when God answers, you go back and make a note that God answered. You write down how He answered, and you put down that date. And I’m telling you, if you’ll begin to do that and write down the prayer requests, keep praying, and then you see God answer, and you come back, it will build your faith.
So many times God answers our prayers, and we forget all about it. We just go on to the next thing, and we don’t celebrate it. We forget that He answered our prayers, and our faith isn’t built. God wants to answer our prayers. And by the way, in case you think Elijah was some spiritual superhero of the faith and that’s why God answered his prayer, no, James says he was as human and ordinary as we are. Umbrella faith is available to every believer because umbrella faith is not about how much faith you have; it’s all about the one you place your faith in.
Faith is only as good as the object you place it in. If you place faith in yourself, it’s not going to help much. If you place faith in someone else-all your faith in someone else-I mean, they’ll let you down. You place your faith in faith-it’s not that great. You just have a positive attitude. I mean, that’s good. I mean, what’s the alternative? Have a negative attitude all the time? I know some people like that, and that’s no good. But what you need is not a positive attitude; you need positive faith. You place your faith in the only one who’s worthy of our faith.
It’s not the amount of your faith; it’s the object of your faith. It’s not how much faith you have; it’s who you have placed your faith in. If you take that ordinary little bit of faith you’ve got and you place it all in Jesus, you’re just like Elijah. He was as ordinary and human as you are and I am, but God answered his prayer because he placed his faith in the source of miracles.
Well, let’s look at First Kings again. In chapter 18, verse 43, Elijah says, «Go and look toward the sea.» He told the servant, and he went up and looked. «There is nothing there,» he said. Seven times Elijah said, «Go back.» So, Elijah was persistent in his prayers. He didn’t give up until God sent rain. Elijah prayed for God to send rain, and then he sent his servant to go look out over the horizon to see what was happening. And the servant came back and he said, «There’s no evidence of rain.»
He came back and said, «There is not a cloud in the sky.» So Elijah prayed a second time. He kept picking up his umbrella and praying. And again, his servant came back and said, «There’s not a cloud in the sky.» He did this seven times. He didn’t give up until God sent rain. What if Elijah would have gone up to the top of the mountain, bowed down before God, and prayed, «God, please send rain, and I’ve got my umbrella out. Please break this terrible drought by sending a downpour. God, do what You told me You’re going to do. Send rain. Amen.»
And then he sends a servant to look out, and there are no clouds and no sign of rain. What if Elijah would have said, «Well, at least I prayed. It’s in God’s hands now. I prayed. God hasn’t answered, but God knows what’s best.» So, let’s go down from the mountain. And what if he would have at that time after praying one time put his umbrella down and walked down the mountain? He didn’t do that. He didn’t give up after he prayed once. It says he went back and prayed a second time, and he picked up his umbrella and God didn’t answer.
So what did he do? Did he walk down the mountain? No. He went back up the mountain and he picked up his umbrella a third time and prayed, and God didn’t answer. So he went back and prayed a fourth time and God didn’t answer. So he went back and prayed a fifth time, and God didn’t answer. So he went back and prayed a sixth time, and God didn’t answer. So he went back and prayed a seventh time before God finally answered.
And sometimes I pray one time and God doesn’t answer, and I get discouraged, and God says, «Don’t give up before the downpour.» What if Elijah would have given up after the first time? What if he would have given up after the fourth time? What if he would have given up after the sixth time? He would have missed the miracle! He would have just had to go back one more time, and there it was.
And many times we give up on the sixth time. Have you given up on the sixth time and said, «Carrie, I prayed 150 times for that loved one to come to know Christ. Carrie, I have prayed 50 times to have this breakthrough, and nothing’s happening. I have prayed for that downpour 40 times, 100 times.» You go back one more time! One more time! The miracle could be one time away! The downpour is on its way! Don’t you dare give up before the downpour.
Some of you prayed six times. You’re discouraged. You feel like giving up. You’re saying, «I’ve tried. I’ve prayed. I’ve sought God. There’s not a drop of rain to show for it.» You need to get back on your knees today and pray a seventh time. I’m preaching to myself. Don’t give up just before the downpour! Keep your umbrella out. Don’t put it away after the sixth time! Keep your umbrella out. Don’t put it away now! Don’t give up just before the downpour! It could be the next time God’s going to break through.
Now, why does God want us to keep praying at times? Why are there times when God says, «Wait, it’s not time yet. Keep praying! Keep praying! Keep praying!» Because the greatest miracle is not the miracle that happens outside us. The greatest miracle is the miracle that happens inside us, as God’s making us more like Himself. He’s teaching us to trust Him. He’s building our faith in His faith-building process.
And there’s a faith-building process that God takes us through over and over again, and if you don’t understand that faith-building process that God takes you through, you’re going to get really frustrated in life. Not much is going to make sense. So what is that faith-building process? You don’t know it; you’re going to miss out on a lot of the blessings that God wants to rain down on you. First is drought. God will allow droughts into our life to get our attention or to teach us to look to Him, to teach us to depend on Him, to teach us that we can’t live this life ourselves; we need Him.
And then, after drought comes delay. It’s when the drought feels like it’s never going away, and we’re waiting on God. We’re waiting on God. There’s no sign of rain; there’s no sign of God working. And after delay comes desperation. It’s where the drought and the delay finally make us desperate, where it feels like the drought is our destiny and everything around us looks dead. But that desperation drives us to our knees to ask God for a downpour. And that’s when God brings a downpour-when it feels desperate, and it looks like everything is dead, that’s the time to keep praying because the downpour is just around the corner.
Desperation is the doorway to downpour. Why does God allow us to go through this process? He’s building our faith, and He’s preparing us for rain. Sometimes I’m not prepared for the reign of blessing that God wants to give me, and so He’s got to prepare me. Maybe I would become proud. Maybe it would take me off the path because I wouldn’t be able to handle the blessing yet. So God allows the pain in my life to prepare me for rain, to build my character. I may not be ready yet for the rain that He really wants to send, but He’s preparing me. He’s preparing you.
And so it’s the pain that prepares you for the reign of His blessing. And by the way, the greater the pain, the greater the rain. For some of you, a downpour is on the way. Don’t dare give up on the sixth time! But let’s look again at First Kings. In First Kings 18, verse 44, the seventh time the servant reported, «A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.» So Elijah said, «Go and tell Ahab, hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.» A seventh time, a cloud as small as a man’s hand started rising up over the Mediterranean. And that’s all Elijah needed because he knew it may be the size of a man’s hand, but that cloud was created by God’s hand.
And God always starts with small clouds. Don’t ever forget that! God always starts with small clouds. God’s greatest miracles start with small clouds. But we ignore these small clouds because we’re looking for the big thunderstorm. We’re always looking for the big miracle, the next big experience with God, the next big downpour of His blessings. But God’s big downpours always start with a small cloud. Small steps of obedience with your umbrella in hand.
Another step of obedience. And that’s what it is to take up your umbrella of faith. It’s pray and then obey. Just the next step. Just the next step. When God calls you to do something, you just take the next small step of faith- that next small cloud. You take the next step of obedience with your umbrella in hand. Then another small step of obedience with your umbrella in hand. And before you know it, you’ll walk right into a divine downpour. Don’t ignore small clouds!
God’s greatest miracles start at small clouds. And there’s probably a small cloud in your life right now that you’re ignoring. Ask God to open your eyes to see that small cloud and to see what’s in that small cloud. God’s great downpour is in that small cloud. There was another small cloud that came to this earth 2,000 years ago as a tiny baby in an animal stable in Bethlehem. But all the fullness of God was contained in that tiny cloud.
And that cloud grew, and raindrops of God’s blessing began to fall on everyone who came in contact with Him. This divine cloud produced blessings all around Him and miracles. But the divine perfect one exposed pride in the hearts of those who hid their darkness behind a cloud of religion, so they crucified Him. And for three days, there was only drought, and the ground He watered turned into a desert of despair. But on that third day, on that third day, the divine cloud rose again and defeated the drought of death for all time. The one who came to this earth as a small humble cloud is now the cloud of almighty glory that fills the heavens with His greatness and His power.
And from that divine cloud came a downpour of grace and forgiveness on all who receive Him. Hey, God’s greatest miracle started with small clouds! That’s the way God works! So look for small clouds! Don’t ignore small clouds! Don’t ignore God’s next step of obedience! I don’t know what His next step is for you. Maybe you’ve never received Christ, and the next step is to take a little step of faith and to trust Christ, and in the cloud of His Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ comes into your life to give you His power and His direction in heaven one day.
Or maybe the next step for you is to join the church. You’ve never taken that step of faith and joined the church, and God commands us to be a member of a local church family. It’s not just about believing; it’s about belonging. And if you’re here, it probably means you need to join here. And we’re having our membership class at the Wilderness Campus today at 1:00 from 1 to 3. We feed you; we take care of the kids; we do everything. That’s how you find out about our church and how you join. It’s just a baby step! Don’t ignore small clouds!
God works miracles when you get connected. Don’t ignore small clouds! Maybe the next step for you is to take a step of faith and trust Him with your finances, and give back to God, and know that He commands us to do that-to put Him first in our finances-but also to know that His promises are true, that He’s going to give back more than you could give. Maybe the next step for you is getting in God’s word and being consistent. Just a few minutes a day, spending time in God’s word and writing down some things you’re learning, and write down some prayers and start praying.
Maybe the next step for you is to start praying about that drought, that God would give you a downpour. You’re going to be desperate enough now and pray for God to work a miracle, and you’re going to keep praying! Maybe for some of you, you’ve been praying six times, 60 times, and God says, «Don’t you dare give up on the sixth time! Don’t you dare give up right before the downpour!» And your next step is just to keep praying. You don’t see a cloud in the sky. All you see is death and desert all around you. But you keep praying! Don’t you dare give up before the downpour!
Let’s stand together, and you say to the people around you, «Don’t you dare give up before the downpour!» I mean, just preach at them-just give it to them, okay? «Don’t you dare give up!» Be kind of negative about it, okay? Kind of like an old-time fire and brimstone preacher-"Don’t you dare give up before the downpour! May hellfire consume you if you get…» No, I’m just kidding. I’m getting carried away, getting back to some roots that aren’t so great.
So anyway, don’t give up before the downpour! God’s grace and His blessing! He wants to bless! He wants to work miracles! He wants to give you a downpour of His blessings! So let’s go to Him right now. Dear God, I pray for all those who have never taken the step of faith to receive You into their life, that they would just pray this prayer silently in their hearts: «Jesus Christ, I need You! I’m tired of trying to make it on my own. I ask You to come into my life and fill me up. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to save me and forgive me of all my sins, and I ask You to take me to heaven one day. I receive Your free gift of heaven. Be the Lord of my life. Help me grow in my faith.»
And Lord, I pray for every one of us. You’d help us take the next step. I know I was really preaching more to myself today than anyone else. I pray that some others got it today, but I pray mostly that I get it and put it into my life. Lord, help us to not give up on the sixth time, to not give up before the downpour. Help us to go back, Lord, and pray and seek You because You’re building our faith. And that desperation is just the doorway right before a downpour. Lord, bring downpours in our lives this week! In Your grace and mercy, break through! Break through and lead us out of droughts and out of deserts.
And I pray for those, Lord, who are going through the most painful desert of their life and there’s not a cloud in the sky, that You would just fill them with encouragement today. Even though they can’t see it, they can’t feel it, Lord, help them speak it in faith. «God, I know You’re going to bring rain! God, I know You’re going to bring rain! There is the sound of a heavy rain!» Can’t see it. Can’t hear it with my ears, but I speak it with my mouth-"There is the sound of a heavy rain that’s coming!» Lord, we speak it right now in Jesus' name.
There is the sound of a heavy rain! We speak it with our mouths, Lord God! We pick up our umbrellas, and we claim it! We’re ready for rain! For it’s in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.