Ask for the rain

“Be glad then, ye children of Zion and rejoice in the Lord your God. For he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month” Joel 2:23

Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you about what God is making available to his children as they come into his presence: An abundance of rain.

The word rain is significant. Everything that grows is dependent on rain for life and sustenance. The crops that grow, the cattle that graze, the man that exerts authority over all of God’s creation depend on rain to live. Where there is an abundance of rain there is an abundance of fertility and growth. Where there is no rain there is dryness and drought.

The rain that I speak of today however is not that kind of rain, although it has all of the characteristics of the physical rain with which we are very familiar. The rain that I speak of falls from heaven and can pour out and consume; it banishes dryness and quenches our thirst but it is not made of H20.

Neither is it simply a material rain. The rain that I speak of is not the promotion at work, husbands and wives, money and recognition. The rain that I speak of is much more than these things. It is a bigger, better, soul satisfying, demon rebuking, and hell defying sort of rain that God is making available to all who seek him with an open heart. This rain may or may not bring about material prosperity but it is not obtained by those whose hearts are after material things. The rain is obtained by those who have settled the all important issue of the natural being infinitely (that is forever and ever) subject to the supernatural.

But like the natural rain this rain is preceded by a mighty rushing wind.

The wind precedes the rain

Brothers and Sisters, to get a clear picture of what this rain is all about we have to go to the first time that this rain was poured out: In the book of Acts.

But before we even go there, we must go even further back to when the Lord spoke of this rain in the book of Joel.

The book of Joel

In Joel Chapter 2, when God spoke of causing this latter rain to come down on his Children, he also said in verse 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions”.

We see here, clearly, that the rain is the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in full measure. No longer will the Holy Spirit empower select individuals such as (Samson, David, Elijah and Elisha), but this anointing of the Holy Spirit will be available to all who seek the Lord with all their hearts, both Jews and Gentiles.

It is also written in the book of Joel “He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain , and the latter rain in the first month” Joel 2:23

As I write this the Lord put a word upon my heart “Cascading”. I didn’t really know what this word meant so I decided to look it up and as I did I have just seen this definition in the dictionary: A waterfall descending over a steep rocky surface. It’s not a coincidence. God wants us to know that this cascade will “descend” over us from up above.

Moreover it is escalating. Not because the Lord will pour out more rain, the Holy Spirit is already poured out, but because the closer we get to the Father, the more of this rain we experience.

Acts of the Apostles

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them colven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” Acts 2: 3-4.

Brothers and Sisters, the wind precedes the rain. When the Holy Ghost was poured out on the apostles in the book of Acts he came as a mighty rushing wind. Just as the natural rain is preceded by wind at times, so is the rain of the Holy Spirit. He comes as a mighty rushing wind, then is poured out as rain upon God’s children.

The wind is simply the manifestation of the greatest force in heaven on earth: The person of the Holy Spirit. The wind is a message to us, the Lord saying “I come with authority. I come with power. I come with a loud sound and fire. And all of this to dwell in your mortal flesh”.

Brothers and Sisters, it is time we realized what great and mighty power resides in us in the person of this indwelling Holy Spirit.

Where is the rain?

Some may be asking: “I hear all about this rain and I agree, but I have been serving the Lord and I haven’t truly experienced this sort of thing in my life”.

I understand. Years ago when I was backslidden I lost the gift of tongues. When I came back to the Lord it did not come back immediately. One day, lying in bed I immediately, randomly jumped out of bed and began to pray in tongues. One minute I was lying down the next I was praying in tongues.

The only thing I was doing during that period was seeking the face of God continually. The rain is where God is.

Why the rain?

God has placed it on my heart to remind his people of what is available in his presence. We are also to remember why God sends the rain. It is not so that we can walk around as being better than the world, but it is so that we can go into the world and spread the gospel. We need only look at the first thing that the apostles did after the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Peter got up and preached and three thousand souls gave their lives to Christ.

The same Holy Spirit that was in Peter is the same Holy Spirit that is available to us. If we will only seek the face of God.

Miri nezo

In Igbo, my native tongue, Miri nezo means it’s raining. God wants to remind us that it is raining.

Many people are sitting in the comfort of their own homes while it is raining outside. These are people who have refused the call of God on their lives, today God wants me to tell you one thing: It is raining. Go and let him rain on you.

Many people have stepped into the rain, but have come with umbrellas to protect their clothes and flesh from the rain. These are those that have embraced some thing’s of God, but have not utterly surrendered all to him. They want to “make it to heaven” but don’t want any of the suffering. God is saying: Put aside the umbrellas. This compromise is going to cost you more than you know.

Many have heard of the rain, desperately want the rain but don’t know where to obtain it. God wants you to seek him with all of your heart and he promises that when you do, you will find him. He is the rain.

Brothers and Sisters, Miri nezo. May the Lord cause this latter rain to soak you in an infilling of the Holy Spirit and anointing to “Preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted and preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind. To set at liberty them that are bruised and preach the good and acceptable year of the Lord”. God bless you. Amen.


By the anointing Jesus breaks the yoke. By the Holy Ghost, just as the prophet said, this is the day of the latter rain, God is moving in his power again. By the anointing Jesus breaks the yoke!