Don't Wait for the Rain to Pray

Don't Wait for the Rain to Pray 

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” — Psalm 62:8 (ESV)

I came across a quote from the legendary baseball player Satchel Paige that caught my attention a couple of years ago: “Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines.”

A lot of truth is packed into those few words.

It's easy to go about our lives when everything is going well. When our health is good, our families are safe, and our needs are being met, we sometimes forget just how dependent we are upon the Lord.

But let the telephone ring in the middle of the night with bad news. Let the doctor walk into the room with a serious diagnosis. Let something happen to someone we love, and suddenly we remember how desperately we need God.

I understand those moments.

I've spent much of the night with my father, who has suffered a major stroke. There is something about sitting beside someone you love, knowing there are things beyond your ability to change, that reminds you just how little control we really have.

And how much we need the Lord.

But here's what I've been thinking about this morning.

Prayer was never intended to be something we turn to only when everything else has failed. Prayer is how we walk with God through every season of life.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing.”

That doesn't mean spending every waking moment on our knees. It means living in fellowship with God, talking with Him, trusting Him, thanking Him, and depending upon Him throughout our days.

We pray when the sun is shining because we recognize where our blessings come from.

We pray when the rain begins to fall because we know where our help comes from.

And we keep praying when the storm doesn't pass as quickly as we had hoped, because our faith rests in God Himself, not merely in the answers we are hoping to receive.

I don't believe prayer is about persuading God to do things our way. It's about bringing our hearts before Him, believing that He hears us, and trusting Him with what we cannot control.

Pray. Believe. Release.

And please, don't misunderstand Satchel Paige's words. If you haven't prayed in a long time and you're facing a storm today, pray anyway.

Our heavenly Father doesn't turn away those who come to Him in their hour of need.

But don't wait for another storm to begin talking with Him.

Thank Him for the ordinary mornings. Thank Him for another day with those you love. Thank Him for the blessings you've grown so accustomed to that you sometimes overlook them.

Because the same God who walks with us through the sunshine has promised never to leave us when the rain begins to fall.

And sometimes, when you're exhausted, worried, and don't even know what to pray anymore, two simple words are enough: “Lord, help.”

He hears those prayers, too.