Showers of Blessing

“I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase.” Ezekiel 34:26-27

Do you remember the words of the beloved hymn “Showers of Blessing” from when the church was a little less contemporary in her worship? If you don’t know it, you should get familiar with the powerful truth of this precious, old song.

I began thinking about this hymn when I was called upon to pray this past Sunday night concerning the severe drought that we’ve been experiencing in our area of Mississippi. As I’ve traveled throughout the Southeast during the past few weeks, I realize that we are not alone in our need of moisture (excluding south Louisiana, which is still recovering from the historic floods of late summer, and those communities adversely effected by the torrential rains of Hurricane Matthew). All over this area of the United States, I’ve seen what would normally be lush green pastures transformed into ugly brown terrain. There is no doubt about it, we certainly need showers of blessing to fall and grant us some much needed relief.

But just as we need physical rain, we also need spiritual blessings to shower down upon us. Without an incredible move of the Spirit of God, we are headed toward disaster. Never in my lifetime could I have imagined that we as a nation would become what we are becoming today. We laugh at what breaks the heart of God. We applaud and promote what He clearly describes as unholy and wicked. We deny the importance of faith and the Bible in the establishment of our country. And we steadily increase the pressure to conform the church to the immoral and insane ways of the world.

The hymn writer said, “Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead!” I, for one, am very thankful for the mercy-drops that I’ve experienced during my years of ministry, but we need so much more that mercy-drops now. We need the windows of Heaven opened, and the presence of the Lord to overwhelm our lives, homes and churches!

Here are the words to the hymn…

There shall be showers of blessing: This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing, Sent from the Savior above.

Refrain…
Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling, But for the showers we plead.

There shall be showers of blessing, Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys, Sound of abundance of rain.

There shall be showers of blessing; Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing, Come, and now honor Thy Word.

There shall be showers of blessing: Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing, Now as on Jesus we call!

There shall be showers of blessing, If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing, If we let God have His way.

Would you please join me in praying like we’ve never prayed before? Pray for broken and repentant hearts in the pulpits and pews across America! Pray for true revival to occur as we seek God’s face and grace! Pray that His glory would overwhelm us, and that we would once again be known as a people “who have been with Jesus!"

Showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling, But for the showers we plead.