10-5-2022
On November 13, 1946, a plane took off from the Schenectady County Airport with a rather unique payload—six pounds of dry ice. Its mission? To seed the clouds with solidified carbon dioxide, in hopes of creating enough condensation to cause precipitation.
Upon takeoff, the pilot flew his single-propeller plane into a cumulus cloud and dumped the dry ice. Eyewitnesses on the ground said that the cloud seemed to explode. The subsequent snowfall was visible for forty miles.
The science of seeding clouds may be a modern-day marvel, but the idea is as old as the prophet Elijah. After a famine that lasted three and a half years, Elijah seeded the clouds with a brave prayer. Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed.
When was the last time you found yourself doubled over in prayer? The posture that Elijah assumes indicates profound humility and extreme intensity. He’s not just praying; he’s believing God for a miracle. I have no issue with short blessings before meals because I believe in eating food while it’s hot. That said, there are moments when we need to press in and seed the clouds with deep prayer.
We tend to be good with the simple prayers, “God, keep the light green for me,” “God, I’d really like for him to call me again,” “God, help me get this new job.” We should pray those prayers, but we shouldn’t stop with the simple things. The Bible tells us that, “God is the same yesterday, today and forever”. That means He still does miracles today just like He did way back then. So pray, because the more you pray, the bigger you dream. And the bigger you dream, the more you have to pray!
Let me double back to Elijah one more time. At first, there was no visible evidence of God answering his prayer for rain. That is when most of us give up, but Elijah doubled down.
“Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
The greatest tragedy in life is that prayers go unanswered because they go unprayed. God won’t answer 100 percent of the prayers you don’t pray! While we’re on the subject, you won’t accomplish 100 percent of the goals you don’t set. But let me flip that script. Prayer is the way we write history before it happens! It’s the difference between letting things happen and making things happen. If you want to win the day, you can’t wish upon a star. You have to seed the clouds with brave prayers!
Don’t underestimate the power of a single seed, a single prayer! It has the power to change anything, change everything. The same goes for the seeds of faith, hope, and love. Don’t worry about the outcomes; focus on inputs. We plant and water, but God gives the increase!
Never despise the day of small beginnings or clouds the size of a man’s hand. God can move mountains with a mustard seed of faith!