“Trees attract rain, and where there are no trees there is no water- there is nothing to attract the rain.” This quote comes from Dr John P. Lundy of the Pennsylvania State Forestry Association who says that destructive temperature changes come when trees are cut down, affecting the agriculture and thus the health of any given area.

Dry land needs rain to become fruitful and transformed into the reality for which it was created. Believers need the rain of the Holy Spirit to be released into the destiny for which we were created – to be the power that transforms nations and peoples that are lost and under the curse of the enemy.

Prayers for the rain of God are excellent, but rain does not naturally come to a desert place. There must be something to attract the rain. Rain is drawn to trees. The moisture in the leaves attracts the moisture in the clouds and brings the rain.

God’s promise is, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.” (Psalm 92: 12-15). We are to be like the palm trees and cedars of Lebanon. They are classified as “evergreen trees.” They never dry out, never have a fall and winter season, they are perpetually green.

What is the point?

Although we may be tested in the wilderness, we can stay fresh and green and flourish in the midst of our trials. The key is to be full of the moisture of the Holy Spirit. This brings fresh life to every part of our body, soul and spirit. Thus we become attractive to the rain of heaven bringing life to the desert places all around us.

This principle is key as we endeavor to reach out to the lost and broken places of the earth. God spoke to me to go into Israel with this focus. God poured out His presence on our team as we worshiped and prayed in all four regions of the land. This presence-driven lifestyle will ignite believers for radical power and sustained endurance.

Blessings- Tod McDowell