LET’S TALK ABOUT RAIN
In the past few days, Las
Vegas was pelted with rain. It traveled around the valley and hit some areas
more than others. At our house, we were blessed. My yard received a good
watering, which was a blessing because I have gotten warnings from the water
authorities that I use too much! I am grudgingly cutting back, but my grass
covers a major part of my yard, and I love my grass, so I know the Lord was the
one who gave me the extra heavenly water this week, and I’m really thankful. I
got to thinking about God and rain and remembered a couple of miraculous incidents
involving rain that I thought you’d like to hear about today. Enjoy.
Driving to my appointment,
I came closer and closer to the nearby mountains. Huge red and black clouds
piled high into the sky, and I could see the hot red and yellow flames. They
swelled fatter and taller, and I felt smaller and smaller.
The black clouds crawled
slowly and powerfully up into the sky like some thick, ghostly monster. The
heavy, acrid smell of smoke filled the air. It was like the times I started a
fire in my fireplace and forgot to open the flue. I had to throw open the
sliding glass door to my patio and run out to get some fresh air.
This time, I was already out
in the big open Las Vegas valley, but there was no fresh air to be had. It was
eerie and claustrophobic, and I didn’t like it.
I had a vision of what it
might feel like being up there at close range with the firefighters; our heads
tilted back as we looked straight up, a wall of gray and red thick heat forcing
us backward. The vision was threatening. I knew I had to do something before
the mountain fire became more serious.
I felt that many people were
praying, and I asked God to send rain to our desert and put a stop to the red
and black monster. He answered that prayer. The rain came, drenched the fire,
and the remaining embers were totally out in three days.
Our God is GREAT and
MIGHTY. “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isa. 66:1 and
Acts 7:49). He made all the planets, all the stars, all the heavenlies. He is
in charge of the winds, and He set the boundary of the oceans. He is God
Almighty and the Lord of Sabaoth (Lord of all the elements). He can do LARGE!
Our God created all the existing
elements and gave Jesus Christ power over all. “And Jesus spake unto them, saying, ‘All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth’” (Matt 28:118).
Those clouds were huge,
the smoke suffocating and the fire fearsome. But our God is BIGGER! We need to
respect HIM. He gave Jesus, His son, so much power, and in turn Jesus made it
available to us as his brothers and sisters in Christ. He said: “And whatsoever
ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13-14).
That’s why we can command
the elements to obey. They are subject to their creator God and He set it up
“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth” (Phil. 2:10). In ministering, I
often use that scripture. It works, and it’s powerful, and I love it.
This means that ANY
element or combination of elements—abnormal cells, a set of muscles out of
place, a dropped bladder, a storm, a demon, a fire. ALL elements must be in
submission to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And for any computer-controlled
hurricane or any other unnatural weather phenomenon that is started, we need to
pray that the people who are involved and the equipment be destroyed or changed
by the power of our God.
And God will honor our
faith as we step out on this truth about His authority and dominion. “And these
signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils;
they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the
Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following” (Mark
16:17-20).
When other believers and I
prayed for rain to put out the fire on Mt. Charleston, God answered.
Another time, I had the
opportunity to pray for God to stop the rain. I was on a Christian survival
adventure. It included rock climbing. I had gone with several “city folks” who
hadn’t even done much camping. When it came to the day we were to do the climb,
the leaders went to set it up as we waited below. Dark clouds built up over us,
and it began to pour. I found shelter under a big rock, began to pray, and got
a revelation: The people’s fear brought the rain so they wouldn’t have to do
the climb. I knew it was true.
Scrambling up to where the
leaders were, I told them we had to pray. I prayed in the name of Jesus Christ
and used Philippians 2:10 as I took dominion over the clouds and demanded a
clear sky. The clouds dissipated, and the sky opened up over us. We were able
to climb, and there were great personal victories for all of us.
These things are not just
for preachers to do, but for all believers who will dare to believe in the
power over the elements that God gave to Jesus and us when we use our God-given
authority in the name of Jesus Christ.
Love, Carolyn
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