GOD! HOLD BACK THE RAIN!

Will God hold back the rain so that a family can eat their picnic dinner?

It was a beautiful fall day in Tachikawa, Japan and our family was having a picnic on the Air Base. All was peaceful there. It was September 1970 and the Vietnam War was still raging in this part of the world. God had told me that the answers to my problems were in the Bible, so I read my New Testament on my lunch hour every day where I worked on Yokota Air Base. Just three months earlier I told Jesus, with all my heart, that I needed Him as my Savior, and I came to know Him personally. He made all the difference in my life! (See story in my free E-Book.)
The promises God gave in the Bible gave me so much hope that I underlined them and ended up memorizing them. I had already found and memorized John15:7: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.” If God said it, I not only believed it, I clung to it. He promised and He doesn’t lie! I wonder if He answered my prayers because He saw that I desperately believed in Him.
Our little Japanese house had no back yard, and a tiny front yard wasn’t big enough for a barbeque. We had packed up our black 1965 Corvair with everything we needed for a picnic.
We were the only family having a picnic in the park. My husband, Dick, was barbequing steak and hamburgers. Our daughter, Suz, was playing with her little brother, Shane, in the freshly mowed grass. They were laughing as they tossed and chased a ball. There was six years difference in their ages, but they delighted in each other, and in playing together. It was Suz’s job to stick close to Shane so that he wouldn’t go too far from us. She dearly loved her brother. I had our picnic table all ready—covered with a festive red and white checked table cloth.
Suddenly, the wind came up and raindrops splattered in our faces. “Suz! Come and pray with me for God to hold back the rain until we have eaten!” The kids came running and we asked God to hold back the rain so that our picnic wouldn’t be ruined. “God, we want to finish our picnic! We don’t get to do this often because Dick travels so much. Please hold back the rain until we have finished eating!”
We watched amazed as the wind died down and the raindrops ceased. Dick finished barbequing and we quickly got the food on the table. We thanked God for the food, and for holding back the rain, just as we asked. We rejoiced as we ate, because it was obvious that although it had started to rain, it had stopped just as suddenly. We finished our meal and even ate a slice of watermelon for dessert. We were so thankful for our wonderful reprieve from rain. As we finished our last bites, we announced, “Thank You, God, for holding back the rain! We’re finished!”
And with that, a sudden rain started. It wasn’t a sprinkle. No, it was a torrential downpour, and all of us laughed with joy and became soaking wet as we loaded our picnic things into the car. It was wonderful to laugh together as a family, with thankfulness, as we cleared our area of all traces of the picnic dinner. We would all dry off once we got home. God had done exactly what we asked of Him! He held back the rain until we had eaten our picnic dinner! We didn’t ask Him to wait until we got the car loaded. We hadn’t asked Him to wait until we got home! He gave us exactly what we asked for! I have never forgotten how all of us laughed as water ran off the end of our noses. We joyfully loaded the car in the deluge, exclaiming, “He did it! God held back the rain until we finished eating! Thank You, God! Thank You, God!”
God held back the rain for us that day. He delights in answering our prayers. He loves you and longs for you to know and love Him. Read my free E-Book, Ten Steps to Answered Prayer. Take it seriously, and you will live on praying ground, where God answers prayer.