One of the calls to prayer we as Baptists quote most often is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14. It is the very familiar passage that states, "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land."
The context of the passage is the completion of the temple Solomon built for the Lord. God tells his people there will be times when the heavens are closed so that there is no rain or the locust come or a plague comes. In those times, he will hear the prayers of his people when they humble themselves and seek him.
While we use the prayer of 2 Chronicles for revival and renewal and many other instances, the prayer specifically refers to rain.
Over the past few months, many of us have prayed for rain. It is the rains that would heal our lands. It is the rain that would quench the thirst of dry parts of our state and put out the fires that have plagued us this year.
And now the rains have begun to come. God has been faithful as he always is, and the rains have come. Now, what do we do about it?
I read a story about Rudyard Kipling several years ago. It seems a newspaper article had come out talking about his books and the money he made from them.
One reader did the math and decided Kipling's works were worth about 15 shillings a word. He wrote to Kipling and asked for one word worth 15 shillings. Kipling wrote back the one word, "Thanks!"
God has been faithful in blessing much of our state with rain. He will be faithful. I hope we can offer our thanks with the same fervor as our requests for rain when he delivers it.
Let me ask you to join me in praying about something else. I believe it to be more important than rain or football conference assignments or national presidential elections or even state Baptist conventions or anything else.
In our state more than one-half of our population does not have a faith relationship with Jesus Christ. A friend asked an interesting question about that the other day. Whose mission field is Texas with the 12 million who do not know Christ? Who will tell those 12 million people about him? Who will live in such a way and speak in such a way that those people can know Jesus?
They are our friends and neighbors. They are the people we work with. If we are not the missionaries on this mission field called Texas, then who is?
Let's thank God for all he has done for us—from the rain he brings to the lives he changes.
And let's pray for and witness to the 12 million who live around us of the hope they can find in the Savior.
?Steve Vernon is associate executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.