Hear the Rain?

"Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"  Ephesians 3:20

  Whoo-hoo!  I see rain!

  As I was driving to my daughter's volleyball game the other day, the rain slowly began to fall,  It quickly picked up speed and soon the rain was coming down so hard that visibility was severely limited and the speed of the cars was slowed to a crawl.  A few miles down the highway, I looked out my window and staring back at me was a double rainbow whose colors were so brilliant and so defined it nearly took my breath away.  I could not help but think of our last visit together sharing about praying until we hear the sound of mighty rain.  Seeing the rainbow, I was once again reminded of God's faithfulness.

  So I have to ask --- "Did anyone hear the mighty rain of God in answer to a prayer or prayers?"

  I want to share that I felt God's mighty rain and received word from another who did also.  She shared how God provided for her family, as they are transitioning to a new job.  We all know how a new job can bring about new challenges and struggles.  She shared how God supplied three different times this last month financially, in three varying amounts, from different people---all to meet their needs.  It was so encouraging hearing the thankfulness in her voice, just praising God for His faithfulness.  I was also blessed as she shared truths they have been reminded of about God, His character, and how He knows all about us and is involved in the details of our lives.

  After we ended our conversation, I found myself thanking and praising God for what He had done for this family.  As I stood in my kitchen I lifted my hands as high as I could reach, singing praises to God.  Those initial moments quickly turned into an extended time of worship---of being so aware of God's sweet presence in my spirit.  God loves to show His love and faithfulness to us.

  Allow God to meet your needs.  Tell Him what you have need of and see how He wants to answer.  Don't miss a blessing from God by hurrying to meet the need yourself.  Don't miss an opportunity to depend on God more than you have before.  He will not fail you!

  Know that God has unlimited resources.  I love that we don't have to figure out how He will do it.  Just believe He will, by whatever means He chooses, and be ready to thank Him for His answers.  Show a heart of praise and thanksgiving to God for all that He does for you.

  Keep on praying!  Keep on believing!   Keep on praising!  "Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good.  Sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant."  Ps.  135:3   

Cry of the Heart

"... but have poured out my soul before the LORD."  1 Sam. 1"15b

You know you can always stop by and we can share a cup of coffee together and visit!

  The words were always the same and oh, how they stung.  It was like salt being rubbed in an open wound.  She tried to push them from her mind but they kept playing over and over again, "Hannah bears no children...Hannah's womb is closed."

  All Hannah's wants and desires had been taken over by sorrow; yet, the deepest desire of her heart still remained...if only...

  Hannah found herself pouring out her heart to the Lord, just as water is poured out over the ground.  All that had been pent up inside her was coming out, as she wept tears of sorrow and spoke words that only the Lord could hear, asking Him to do this one thing that only He could do...give her a son.  

  Oh, I imagine we have all had a time in our lives that our needs or desires were so great that all we could do was "pour out our heart to the Lord."  Thomas Le Blanc says, "Pour it out as water.  Not as milk, whose color remains,.  Not as wine, whose savour remains.  Not as honey, whose taste remains.  But as water, of which, when it is poured out, nothing remains."  When we get to that place with the Father, we find ourselves being totally open and honest with Him about the needs in our life.  We allow all hindrances to be set aside and turn our heart upside down, pouring out to Him our innermost thoughts, needs, desires, expectations, emotions, and sin.  At this point, we are not holding on to anything, but giving God all that we cannot control, trusting Him to do a good work in our lives.  It is at this place that we realize that He is sovereign, in control, and there is nothing beyond His grasp.

  When we come to that point in our lives, there is such freedom at the throne of grace sharing not only with our Father, but also with our Friend.  It is then that we find ourselves becoming like Hannah, who---when she finally walked away---"was sad no more."

  I love the verse in Ps. 62:8 "Trust in him at all times, ye people; pour out your heart before Him.  God is a refuge for us.  Selah."  Oh, that we might experience the freedom that comes when we pour out our hearts and trust in Him as Hannah did ... because, if we do, the precious pause of worshipping and waiting on Him becomes evident in our lives.  He's waiting on you and the cry of your heart.

  Oh, how He loves you.