I Kings 19 tells the story of a nation in a season of drought. It was a twofold drought, both physical and even more distressing it was a time of spiritual drought. The man of God stands and makes this declaration “I hear the sound of abundant rain.” Everyone around him knows it hasn’t rained for three years, there’s not a cloud in the sky, yet God’s man says it’s going to rain. You know the story; Elijah prays, the rain comes.

I live in a part of the country where, in spring and early summer, it can be 80 to 90 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and suddenly the clouds begin to gather and before you know it, you are in a deluge. The sound of rain coming is unmistakable. If you know what to look for and what to listen for, you can know its going to rain long before it starts.

A great deal of people find themselves in a place of spiritual dryness. the cares of this life, the hurts and pains of living in a sin filled world can leave us wandering in a spiritual wasteland. Addiction and suicide are rising at alarming rates, spiritual productivity is lacking, because we have forgotten our God. We have bowed to the gods of this world and it has led us, even the church, to a place of spiritual dryness and drought. We have drank from the cisterns of feel good sermons, self awareness and self motivated thinking. We have listened to the lie that it’s all about me, and for all that teaching, preaching, for all the time we’ve spent reading and for all the conferences and seminars we attend, we are spiritually wasting away. Think about it, and ask yourself this question “when was the last time I really felt the refreshing rain of God’s presence?” For some it has been a long time, for some the answer is never.

I know, it can seem hopeless, but I have good news today, Holy Spirit has told me to listen. Listen for what? the sound of abundant rain. He told me to put aside all the noise, all the voices coming out of the news, political madness, social unrest and yes, social media, and listen with my spirit. If I do, I will hear the sound of spiritual thunder. If I do, I will, in the spirit, see the flashes of the lightening of God’s presence and power lighting up the darkness. It’s there, I just have to listen, I just have to look. If I listen close enough, I can hear the cries of the hurting, the hopeless, the thirsty, being stirred and wooed by the spirit of God into a time of unparalleled awakening. It’s there, the clouds are forming and the deluge of God’s mighty power and presence is imminent. It will not be sensed by natural or physical means, it will only be seen by spiritual awareness and awakening. Like Elijah, we must move and dwell from a place of faith. If you look at circumstance, you’ll be dry. If you go by how you feel, you’ll be dry. We must believe and act on what God is saying and declaring. That only occurs when we listen with with our spirit, and declare with our mouths that rain is coming.

Are you ready? Are you tired of living a life void of spiritual strength and power? Then shut it all down and shut it all off, and begin to draw near to the Master. If you do, I know you will begin to hear it, the wonderful sound of abundant rain.