PROPHETIC WORDS

THERE’S THE SOUND OF THE ABUNDANCE OF RAIN

by Jill Smith

August 2022

I was in Taranaki on the weekend, and as I prayed in my hotel room on Saturday afternoon, I heard the Lord say, “It’s beginning to rain” and I started to sing an old song that I haven’t heard for years:

“It’s beginning to rain hear the voice of the Father
Saying whosever will come drink of the water
I promise to pour my Spirit out on my sons and my daughters
If you’re thirsty and dry lift your hands to the sky
It’s beginning to rain.”

In that moment I felt a sudden wave of hope, joy, and absolute relief come over me, and a bubbling up of the refreshing river of life inside me, it was so good.

Then Holy Spirit said, “Begin to declare, “There’s the sound of the abundance of rain.””

This is what Elijah declared to King Ahab after God’s humiliation of the spirits of Baal on Mt. Carmel, following years of drought brought about by the nation’s unfaithfulness to God and dalliance with the Baal worship that Jezebel promoted (1 Kings 18 & 19). Elijah’s prophetic confrontation and intercession brought repentance, and God’s mercy manifested with the breaking of the drought.

I know many have been praying and interceding with faithfulness and intensity in the Spirit. For a long time, I have sensed the Lord calling us back to Him through a couple of verses from Jeremiah that have been playing on repeat in my mind:

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls” (Jer 6:16).

“My people have committed two sins. They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jer 2:13).

For us right now, and always I suppose, there’s a wooing of the Spirit to turn back to the simplicity of faith in God Himself for the rest our souls need and the drink for our thirst. Our idolatrous temptations may not be formalised worship of idols with ritual and sacrifice, but more subtly, the reliance upon lesser things for the drink and rest that only simply trusting God can provide. The building of “cisterns that cannot hold water” is anything we build ourselves to substitute for “drinking” God Himself, the true spring of living water.

Jesus said it simply, “Whoever drinks of the water I give them will never thirst… (it) will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:3).

He also said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever comes to me a Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from them. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive” (John 7:37-39).

Jesus already died and rose again, dealing with sin for us, and ascending to heaven so that He can be present for everybody, everywhere, by His Spirit. The rain/reign of the Spirit has been poured out; there’s the sound of an abundance of rain. God has already provided water in the wilderness, streams in the wasteland, for anyone who will come and drink. It’s the ministry of Holy Spirit within us to satisfy our thirst and water our dry and thirsty ground.

Today, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland… I provide water in the wilderness… give drink to my people … that they might proclaim my praise” (Isa 43:18-21).

It’s always “today” and it’s always simply by grace through faith; it’s poured out by the Spirit, all the time, anytime, for those who believe. But there’s also a refreshing the Spirit is offering us today. Regardless of circumstances, natural seasons, cultural climate, in Christ the drought is broken. God is reminding us that we can’t make this happen by ourselves, but we can shift our focus and receive from Him.

He wants to encourage some people that the future is not about what’s happened to you, who you have been before, how your life has looked already, what you’ve learned, or what you can do with the skills and resources you have. Holy Spirit is offering newness. A future that will come from His heart and mind, and will manifest through His creative power. There’s new creation and resurrection action coming towards you from the Lord. Look up, look outward, welcome it. Pray and choose to break your attachment to how things have been, who you have been, and the story you’ve been living so far. There are new chapters; God is turning the page, even opening whole new books for some.

This is supernatural grace, Holy Spirit action to get flowing with, leaning in to hear His voice, and following His lead. Be encouraged to worship, praise, sing in the Spirit, let yourself flow, activate the life of the Spirit within you. As you do, imagine the rain of the Spirit watering your dry and thirsty ground, and watch what happens – eventually rivers of living water will overflow.

PRAYER POINTS

Prayer is not just us coming to God with a list of requests. As part of our relationship with Him, it is us having a conversation with the Lord, which involves talking and listening on both sides. The following prayer points are some things you can talk to Him about in regards to this prophetic word.

• Pray that we would have open ears to hear the Holy Spirit wooing us to fresh encounters with the Lord, and to drink of the living water Christ gives (John 4:3)

• Pray that we would see the new things that God is wanting to do in our lives, individually and corporately, and cooperate with Him in that work.

• Stepping into what God has for us sometimes means letting go of past ideas, beliefs and attachments that will not serve us well in the 'new' that we are walking into. Now is a time when God is asking that of us. In this prophetic word Jill mentions attachments to "how things have been, who you have been, and the story you’ve been living so far". Ask the Lord which attachments need to be broken in regards to your life, and then pray and break them in the spirit. Yield afresh to the Lord and reconfirm your desire for the Holy Spirit, wisdom, and truth to be your guides.

• Receive God's supernatural grace to hear His voice in fresh ways, follow His lead with courage, and activate the life of the Spirit within you.

BIO