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Let It Rain from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

There is the sound of abundant rain in the heavens, and the clouds are heavy. Sylvia and I went out shopping this week. It was a sunny morning, but the moment we opened the house door, it started raining. It seemed localized. There were small patches of rain that tended to follow our car. Yet, long stretches of perfectly dry highway. We passed other vehicles without a drop of rain on them.

It reminded me of times past. In the 1990s, I worked twelve-hour shifts every Saturday and Sunday doing maintenance while the factory was closed. I couldn't attend church, and I hadn't been in a few years. The workplace was your typical construction environment, selfish, cynical, and profane, with most living for the weekend. It was a spiritually dry, dead time.

Before I landed this great paying job, I'd been pretty tight with the Lord. I began to long for the things of God and yearned for His presence. Frankly, I missed being close to Him. I now understand what David meant when he wrote Psalm 42:

(Psalm 42:1–2 NKJV) As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

I found a King James audio Bible recorded on about 100 cassette tapes by Alexander Scourby, and I began to listen to it on earbuds while I worked. I was usually spraying paint or pressure washing most of the time, so I could tuck them under my spray sock. As I listened to His word, my spirit began to slowly regenerate.

A good friend of mine supported several ministries and received their "Sermon of the Month." He loaned me a five-gallon bucket full of tapes he had collected, and I began to work them into my rotation. Hearing the anointed word of God fanned the flames growing within me. I came across a teaching by Derek Prince, who happens to be one of my favorite Bible teachers. It was on the secret power of fasting.

I was hungry for more of God, whatever the cost. After listening to Derek teach on fasting a few times, I was convinced it was what I needed. So I set out on a two-week fast with only water. The first three days were pretty rough, but after that, the desires of my flesh began to wilt, and my spirit began to come alive. Suddenly I could see, hear, and comprehend the word of God like never before. It was as if a dense fog had been driven back.

I began to pray for the Lord to remove anything that was holding me back from being closer to Him. I just wanted more of Him in my life, and I would pay any price. Soon, His presence began to descend on me at work. It caused me to bubble over in laughter at times. I remember one particular guy who was emotionally dark, sullen, and cynical. He came up to me as we were washing up one day and asked me, "Why are you so xxxx happy all the time?" It was because of Jesus.

My words began to have power. The ones who the Lord was actively drawing would come to me and want to know more about Him. The Lord would arrange a situation where we would be working together, and I would share whatever the Lord gave me. Some of them would go home, get on their knees, and make things right with God that night in prayer. They would tell me later how the Holy Spirit had convicted them.

Oh yes, it was a wonderful time. Then at the end of my two-week fast, the office called me in and laid me off. Downsized. Whoops. Didn't see that one coming. To shorten this up, it was my job that was keeping me from advancing. While on unemployment, I had time to start attending seminary at night. I got ordained, and many years later, here I am.

Now, to the point of my message: You can walk in revival while everyone around you is in the middle of a spiritually dry desert. Just as our car was in the rain while on a dry highway. The clouds above us are full of rain, yet there is only a sprinkle here and there at the moment. The cloudburst hasn't begun, but your hunger can draw the water out.

(Hosea 10:12 NKJV) Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.

Seek the Lord until He comes and rains righteousness on you. Hallelujah. The Lord will come and rain on us, and He encourages us to seek Him and ask for it:

(Zechariah 10:1 NKJV) Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain.

Oh yes, I would love to see a worldwide revival. Yet, so far, I've managed to miss every single major revival there has ever been. So I've learned to create my own little shower that follows me like Olaf in the movie Frozen. And you can do the same.

(Acts 2:17–18 NKJV) 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.

The promise is for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. The young and the old. The sons and the servants, both men and women. None are left out. Can you shake off the mediocre, postpone the desires of the flesh, and ignite your spirit?

(John 7:37–39 NKJV) On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Today, Jesus has been glorified and ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit has been given and dwells here with us. The ball is in our court. What will we do with it?

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please let it rain on me! Lord, I hunger for more of Your presence. Show me the way clearly, and teach me what I need to know. I humble myself and surrender my life to You today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!