When I wrote last week: "If I am hearing God correctly, we are about to experience a deluge from God, both physically and spiritually." I had no idea that within minutes the heavens would open and it would rain for over a week.

The forecast that day was simply "Showers", and all we had experienced was a gentle drizzle. This was not enough to satisfy the desperately dry earth, but the weather forecasters did not expect much more. Thank God that He does not listen to weather forecasts! He listens instead to the prayers of His people. There was a brief report on Channel 9 of a town in the Riverina where the drought was severe and the churches came together to pray. God answers such prayer, and the rains came!

I am sure there were many others praying for the rain across our country. Thank God for His wonderful grace! But there is another area of drought where people have been praying for some time. That is in the realm of the spirit. Morally and spiritually our land is in a mess, as the Government decision to provide free services to the "Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras" clearly demonstrates.

The fact that we could choose as "Australian of the Year" a young man who has fathered a child out of wedlock is a further indication of the breakdown of the moral fabric of our society. An article in the latest issue of Southern Cross reports that 70 percent of young Australians now co-habit before marriage, including many Christians. No wonder we see no problems in honouring someone who is a great sportsman and a great philanthropist even though he snubs his nose at the most fundamental institution of society.

While we might bewail the terrible state of society, and fear for our children who are growing up in such moral pollution, we must realise that the fault is very largely ours. The spiritual life of the Church has been allowed to sink to such a low flicker that we are no longer the light of the world that Jesus called us to be.

We don't think much about light and its source today, beyond the flick of an electric switch. But I visited a home recently where there were candles on the table. I noticed how, to keep the candles burning at full efficiency, giving adequate light, they had to be constantly trimmed and attended to. It would seem that one of the reasons for the low spiritual glow from the Church is that we have not given sufficient attention to our spiritual lives, especially in the areas of Bible reading, prayer and the Christian fellowship.

Coming back to the metaphor of spiritual drought, I believe that the challenge is for churches to come together to pray for God to open the windows of heaven and pour out His blessing.  I therefore commend most highly the meeting at Willoughby this Wednesday, and the "Sydney Belongs to Jesus" gathering in March. When God's people come together to pray, especially when they gather across natural boundaries, He pays special attention to their prayer. I believe He is intending to pour out a deluge of blessing, but He waits for us to ask!

Another thing I noticed about the rain last week is that God's blessings are mixed. For many, especially farmers, there was great rejoicing as parched earth was refreshed and dams began to fill. But others cursed the rain for the inconvenience and even damage that it caused. Such has ever been the way with God's blessing. What a blessing is to some, is a curse to others. Even the greatest blessing of salvation came at the cost of the suffering of God's own Son.

Yet, when our lives are committed to the service of the Lord (as they are in baptism!) what may seem a curse can actually be a great blessing. I was talking recently to one of a number of folk in our congregation who had been retrenched. They spoke of the pain they felt at the unfair way they had been treated, and their sense of rejection. I recall similar feelings when I was retrenched as a young Industrial Chemist. I was absolutely devastated, and even wondered if God had forsaken me. Yet that was the turning point in my life that led ultimately into the ministry.

When the deluge of God's blessing comes, some of our cherished possessions will be washed away. We will even see destruction of some things we thought were important. We may even be tempted to curse God for the pain and inconvenience, but the ultimate results will go far beyond our wildest dreams and bring glory to His Name. What a wonderful time to be alive!

Rev. John Davies
10 February 2002