Ask the Lord for Rain in the Season of Spring Rain


All my life I have been perplexed about asking God for things. Many times, throughout the Bible, I find stories of people asking for things and God providing. Jesus made it pretty clear when he said, "Ask, and it shall be given." In that statement, it seems pretty simple, but I have seen and experienced asking God for things that never came about, which left me confused or even frustrated.

James made things a little more clear for me in his statement: "You ask and don't receive because you ask with wrong motives...." (James 4:3) I understand that we have to ask for things that are in God's will, but that has led to another confusion: if the thing I am asking for is already in God's will, then why do I even have to ask Him for it in the first place? If I am truly trusting in God's will, shouldn't I just take whatever God gives me and learn to be satisfied? What is the point of asking?

The other thing that really used to bother me was the idea of people praying for the same thing day after day after day. I am very well acquainted with the story of a mother who prayed for her child for many years before seeing him dedicate his life to Christ, and I see the deep power of prayer in that story. However, in the middle of that story, I have to admit that I wondered what was the point of continuing to pray for the same thing. Jesus did not say to ask again and again. He said to ask. Period. God heard you the first time.

As I have said in other posts in this series, I am not trying to interpret the scripture that I include. I am only recording the thoughts I have about what I read. I will admit that the book of Zechariah, or any of those prophets at the end of the Old Testament, have never provided me with a lot of inspiration, but this particular verse really struck me today. It makes me think that I may finally understand something that I have been missing my entire life.

Hidden in this short, seemingly inconsequential book, is the statement that seems to make it all make sense for me. "Ask the Lord for rain in the season of spring rain." In other words, it's all about the timing. If I ask in the right season, I will receive. Maybe God's will has as much to do with WHEN you ask as it does with WHAT you ask. Yes, it is in His will to give me what I ask for, but I have to ask for it at the right time.

So, how do I know when it is the right time? Simple answer: I don't. And that is the key for me. If I ask today, and it is not the right time, then God is not going to give me what I ask for. It is not in His will for me to receive it today, but maybe tomorrow is the day. I need to keep asking because I don't know when He will say yes.

I have heard many people say that God always answers your prayers, but sometimes the answer is no. That has always bothered me because Jesus said that it WILL be given. I am finally starting to realize that I have to keep asking because I have to be ready to receive what God has for me. Of course, that leads into an entirely different topic of waiting patiently, but I that is not a topic for this post....

[One final thought: what about those things that I asked for but never received? I may be wrong here, but I think I never received them because of one of two possibilities. Either (1) I gave up asking too soon because it wasn't the right season yet, or (2) I came to the realization that the thing I was asking for was not something I wanted (or thought I needed) anymore. Either way, the fault was mine, not God's.]

Heavenly Father, Thank you for providing rain in the right season, and thank you for teaching me the importance of asking in the right season. You are the Good Father who gives His children good gifts, and I am blessed beyond measure with the gifts you have given me. In the name of Jesus I thank you, Amen.

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