Prep Work

It had rained for almost a week straight. It was this strong, constant storm that just kept us soaked for days and days. Christy was taking Anna to school one morning and on the way asked her if there was anything she could pray about for her day. Anna said, “Mom, could you just pray that the rain will stop when you drop me off so I won’t get too wet going into school?” Now, as I said, it had rained pretty steadily for about a week, so the chances for a mid-storm shutoff seemed slim, but Christy prayed anyway. “Lord, would you let the rain ease up while Anna’s walking into school so that she doesn’t get too wet?” she prayed as the windshield wipers creaked past. They sat in line at the school for a few minutes and then, right when Christy was about to pull up to the drop off… right before the safety monitor opened the door of the van, the rain let up. It just kinda stopped. Anna got out of the van, said goodbye, and trotted off into her school. The safety monitor closed the door, Christy pulled out and as she was leaving the parking lot, the rain started up again with that same consistent fervor of the past few days.

The thing I love about that story is how little Anna knows about all that went on behind the scenes. For Anna, she asked for prayer, the prayer was uttered, and then the prayer was answered, just like that. She walked into her school as dry as a bone and smiling to boot. What she didn’t realize was the incredible amount of meteorological and logistical planning that it took in order for our smiling Father to orchestrate that seemingly simple moment. Consider how big a seven-day thunderstorm is… how many states did it stretch across? What maneuvers of wind and water took place over the days and days of that storm to bring a break in just the nick of time? What manipulations of barometric pressure were employed to sew seeds in the heart of a young girl about the God who answers prayers? How far had that break in the clouds traveled before its moment in the spotlight, and how many other prayers had He answered with that break before it kept my little girl’s pigtails dry? Was it born in Arkansas? Did it allow a nervous someone to carry a wedding cake to her car unscathed so it could be delivered on time? Did it provide a moment’s peace to a hard conversation in the rain? Who knows…

In Matthew 6 Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Not only that, He’s already at work behind the scenes to bring about the answer to your every need. You may realize today that you have a need, and without you even knowing it, He’s been working on the answer for six days across three states. Do you ask Him for what you need? Do you take your problems and questions to His doorstep believing that He cares about you and is able to help? Do you run to your heavenly Father with even the small stuff? It’s a big deal to Him, and the prep work involved in answering a seemingly small prayer might just surprise you. Tell God what you need. Ask for His help. Tell Him where you’re hurting and tell Him what you want Him to do for you. The God who made the sun stand still in the sky for a whole day in the Bible also made the rain back down for a six-year-old girl in Tennessee. So go ahead, pray.