Have you read “The Circle Maker”? I just started it this past week. In the beginning it talks about the legend of the circle maker. Basically, there’s this dude, Honi, in biblical times and there is a huge drought. People are dying and a whole generation of Jews are close to dying out, so Honi decides to do something about it. He draws a circle in the sand with his staff and tells God that he refuses to leave until God “shows mercy upon His children” and lets rain fall from the sky. And guess what? God honored Honi’s faithfulness and let it rain. In fact, He caused just a light sprinkling rain to fall from the sky and Honi told God, “This is not the rain for which I have prayed.” God then caused torrential downpours that were causing flash floods to fall from the sky. People fled and Honi stayed in his circle and he said once more, “Lord, this is not the rain for which I have prayed.” Then God cause a soothing, steady rain to fall and the people and land were quenched.
I read this story to our prayer group that meets here at the house of the pastor of Gaborone Community Chapel. We talked about praying specific prayers, and as we went around in a circle praying, the wife of the pastor prayed for rain for Botswana. She asked for forgiveness for any sins the people of this nation has committed. She asked for grace and mercy and rain, and rain, and more rain. By this time, gray clouds were forming overhead, which, if you ask any Botswanan, is a very unusual sight. It hasn’t rained in so long here that the main hospital has been shut down for four months because they have no water. Neighborhoods are without running water. Water rationing has been set in place and it is illegal here to water your gardens or wash your car with the hose. So…yeah….it’s pretty intense.
Anyway, after the prayer meeting, my team leader, Meg, and my teammate Gwen, and I felt strongly that we needed to stay outside and pray until it rained. God had breathed a new conviction and fire into us and we were all sure that God was calling us to this. So we spent three hours praying, praising, and worshiping. In the first hour and a half or so, it did rain, just a little. Just an off and on sprinkle, but we were not satisfied. We continued to boldly petition God. We danced and praised and prayed and sang. Then it stopped raining. And it didn’t start again.
I decided to do like Honi the Circle-Maker and I went out into the dirt, drew myself into a circle, and told God, “I will not move from this circle until you provide rain.” Then I laid down in the dirt and waited. And waited. And waited. Maybe half an hour passed before I got up. A vision flashed through my mind of me circling to the right 100 times, so I did that, and I told God, “Once I circle 100 times, you will provide rain.” Halfway through, on about the 50th circle, I got a vision of circling 100 timse to the left. So when I finished the first 100, and it didn’t rain, I began to circle to the left.
I also began to pray and sing “Let it rain, let it rain,open the floodgates of heaven.” Then the words “el shaddai” came to my mind and I felt compelled, as I was circling, to just repeat those words and in a split second they became something else entirely. A jolt of excitement flowed through me when I realized I was speaking in tongues. An overflow of my spirit felt like it was bubbling out of my mouth and I just continued to walk and pray until there was no more left to pray… Then I was silent as I continued to walk.
Once I finished the 100th round, despite the miracle that had just been upon me (I’d never spoken in tongues before), I was frustrated. Still no rain. In fact, the air felt dryer than before. I asked God to let a raindrop hit me if I needed to stay and pray. Nothing. Bitter and frustrated, I left that circle and went to bed.
Today we sat down for bible study and I heard word from some of the women there about how hard it was pouring down rain last night! Let that soak in for a second. In a nation that has been in drought for so long, with no hope for rain, there was a downpour that began at the time we were praying! A true miracle! Through this I learned some things about myself…. I am really quick to doubt, get frustrated, and maybe a little bitter if prayers (especially ones like this one that I felt strongly God was calling me to pray) aren’t answered in the way I expect. God showed me through this that He does answer prayers, and I need to trust Him, keep the faith, be obedient, and acknowledge His goodness!
If you are in a drought of sorts in your life, do not fear. God is there, working behind the scenes, even if you cannot necessarily see it.
