Rain and Worry

Job 5:10 (NIV) “He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.”
 
During the Sunday morning service, we have open prayer request time. We hear updates about those who are sick, traveling, or concerned about school projects. During planting, we pray for safety in the fields. During harvest, we pray for safety in the fields. Invariably, scattered throughout the weeks, we voice concern about rain.
 
The farmers need rain for their crops. The ranchers need rain for their hay. Mid-summer hits and everyone who is not a farmer realizes the need for rain when everything turns brown.
 
We who need rain can have two responses to our angst. First, we could sit in our chair and stare at the clouds out the window, biting our nails with anxiety. This response is our natural one. Even in the face of something outside our control, we naturally worry. We worry about weather. We worry about crop yields. We worry about calving season. We worry about finances. We worry about our children as they start driving. We worry about what people will think about the dish we bring to a potluck meal. We worry about everything and have control over nothing.
 
From a fellow human worrier: worry accomplishes nothing.
 
Our alternative response is to turn to the one who has control. The Bible says that God has control over the weather. In His great plan, he withholds rain and he sends rain. And, in His amazing mercy, He listens to the needs of those who are His. He listened to the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament and withheld rain for three years and six months, so that Israel would turn from false gods. Then, when Elijah prayed again, God sent a heavy rain.
 
From a fellow human worrier: trust accomplishes everything.
 
What would happen if we stopped worrying and starting trusting the God who is in control and who listens to our needs? Instead of biting our nails and pulling out our hair, we pray. When our neighbor expresses his fear of the future, we pray. When our child is concerned about the outcome of a paper, we pray.
 
Now, I know that prayer does not remove our need to act. We are to be wise and do our due diligence. But, prayer removes our need to worry, so we can breathe and sleep in peace.