By Lynn Leiby

As I left this morning on my way to work, I was overjoyed to see a a few puddles of water accumulated on my driveway.  We must’ve had a good rain the night before.  It was a much anticipated blessing after experiencing one of the hotter and drier summers in the DFW Metroplex.  The temperature had also dropped to a pleasant 71 degrees.  My thoughts this morning were on a family residing on the eastern side of the Metroplex who had taken to social media to ask their Christian friends to pray for rain.  And in so doing, they had displayed pictures of the land on their farm where cracks had opened to nearly three feet deep. I am hopeful that their prayers have been answered and a good amount of rain has fallen on their property as well.

There are many, perhaps the majority, in our country that don’t consider the benefit of a relationship with the Creator God and the comfort that prayer can bring to those who love and serve Him.  The Bible reveals in Leviticus chapter 26 that blessings are for the nation that love and obey God but curses are for those who choose not to follow His ways.  So many of those curses are plainly evident in our secular society today.  But then I’m drawn to Matthew chapter 5 where Jesus Christ teaches that when we pray, even the wicked can benefit.  He states, “…for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Mt.5:45)  The Apostle James elaborates on this, stating, “the effective fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much!” (Jas.5:16)

The United Church of God is a sabbath keeping congregation meeting in the DFW area.  We are committed to obeying the laws of God and having the testimony of Jesus Christ.  And when our brethren are struggling with such issues as the lack of rain on parched farmland, we pray.  May those prayers serve as a blessing for the just and the unjust equally as Jesus Christ taught.