The Rain of the Spirit

One of the great imageries of the outpouring of the Spirit of God in revival is rain—a deluge of rain. The Psalmist says, “He shall come down like rain … as showers that water the earth” (Psalm 72:6). God Himself says dramatically, “Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness” (Isaiah 45:8). God promises, “I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing” (Ezek. 34:26). The prophet states, “Come and let us return to the Lord: … he will … revive us … he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth” (Hosea 6:1-3). Again, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you (Hosea 10:12). Another prophet affirms, “Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain” (Zech. 10:1). All of this is a beautiful picture of the outpouring of the Spirit, which essentially is God manifesting His presence. Although many of these passages have prophetical import, what will be true in the physical kingdom spiritually is true now in the spiritual kingdom—the age of the Spirit.

When a heavy rain follows a dry, dusty spell, it refreshes the atmosphere. The downpour of rain literally knocks the dust in the air down to the ground making the atmosphere following the rain invigorating. Likewise, when the deluge of the Spirit follows a dry, dusty spell, it refreshes the spiritual atmosphere.  The downpour of the Spirit clears away the dust of deception allowing you to see sin for what it is and the Savior for who He is. In this invigorating atmosphere the response of brokenness brings cleansing in the heart followed by the infilling of the Spirit. This is life again—revival. 

Once a youth pastor who had been meeting with God confessed to his youth group his flesh-dependent ministry and asked their forgiveness. The Spirit then moved filling the atmosphere with the presence of God—the outpouring of the Spirit. Immediately, without human leadership, young people began to confess their sins. Some apologized to others they had wronged. Several even left the Wednesday night youth meeting, found their parents in the auditorium and bringing them out to the lobby apologized to their parents for various issues. God had come! The atmosphere was charged with the presence of God. People could see straight. Sin was seen as grievous and the Savior was seen as glorious. One young lady told her mom, “When this occurred we had to get down. It didn’t seem right to stay in our seats. We had to get down.” What a blessed shower of the Spirit!  

We must distinguish between God’s omnipresence and God’s manifest presence. Obviously, we have God’s omnipresence, but we need God’s manifest presence. We need a mighty deluge of the Spirit. Therefore, let us heed the call to, “Come and … return to the Lord,” to “sow … in righteousness” and “break up [our] fallow ground.” May we “seek the Lord” and “ask” for “rain.”  May the Lord be pleased to then give the command for the rain of the Spirit, “Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.” O for seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord!