“Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.” (Zechariah 10:1)
I welcome you to the last month of the year 2021. Left to the devil, none of us would have seen this December. The COVID-19 pandemic, particularly its new variant, wreaked havoc, but Jesus reigns still! He promised His own to crown our year with goodness and make our paths drip with abundance (Psalm 65:11). Give God high praises. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Thy Name, O Most High” (Psalms 92:1). We shall never be ungrateful like the other nine lepers in Luke 17:17, in Jesus’ Name.
Zechariah 10:1 says that “…in the time of the latter rain, the Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone.” This month, you will experience, not a drizzle, not just mercy drops, but showers of His blessings, in Jesus’ Name.
THE FORMER AND LATTER RAINS:
In Israel, rain is always a much-needed blessing for the successful growing and harvesting of crops. There are generally two rainy seasons mentioned in Scripture: the early or former autumn rain (October to November) and the latter spring rain (March to April). With the former rain, farmers begin ploughing and planting seeds. Then, the latter rain, which is even more important, matures the crops for harvesting.
HOW TO BRING ABOUT THE RELEASE OF THE LATTER RAIN:
- PRAYERS BRING THE LATTER RAIN
Zechariah 10:1 says, “Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain.” It may be the season, but God still wants you to ask Him for the rain. Abstain from the attitude that whatever will be will be. No, come in alignment with God’s word for you this year by asking Him. Prayer positions you to receive what He already wants to give you. Prayer allows Him to intervene and make possible every impossible situation (Luke 18:27)!
- THE LATTER RAIN IS RELEASED BY INSIGHT!
God’s rain of plenty or showers of blessing is released based on insight into the workings of the covenant. “But thou shalt remember the LORD Thy God for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
The showers are provoked to come down for you by covenant practices. So, the journey to abundance begins with knowledge for one cannot practice that which he does not know.
- SEEK FOR THE LATTER RAIN
Seek the Spirit now. Seek for the latter rain, desire it, fast and pray for it. “He that seeketh findeth…And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Matthew 7:8; Jeremiah 29:13). The greatest danger we face as God’s people today is procrastination. Yes, the latter rain is coming whether you believe or like it or not, it is coming! Although we have the promises, we tend to think it will come in the distant future. The urgency to prepare now is in the three commands – seek, pray, believe!
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LATTER RAIN:
1.THE LATTER RAIN BRINGS RESTORATION
When God’s rain of blessings begins to fall, there is a great restoration. If you have lost anything in life, the release of the rain can provide you a replacement of that which was lost, making you forget that anything was ever missing! You may be familiar with the verse, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). But do you know that in the Bible, this blessing is in the context of God’s giving of the former and latter rains (Joel 2:23)? That means this month, you can expect God’s blessing of restoration regardless of the scale of destruction caused by the swarming locust (the pandemic). However, it begins with returning back to the LORD with all your heart.
2.THE LATTER RAIN BRINGS GOD’S PEOPLE TO THEIR KNEES IN GRACE AND SUPPLICATION
Zechariah 12:10 says, “…and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him…,” but there is another application of this verse for the Church. The church of Jesus Christ has so blunted sin – so whitewashed and overlooked it – that when the Spirit comes down with the spirit of prayer, He will bring a purging as well. There will be weeping, mourning, brokenness – a reality of how our sins grieve the heart of God! The Holy Ghost is going to move this way not just in congregations, but in families and in every individual believer: “And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart…” (Zechariah 12:12). He will bring such a powerful and piercing convicting message against sin that we will not be able to tolerate any unholy or unclean thing in us!
3.THE LATTER RAIN BRINGS GREATER HEALING
Spiritually speaking, the early rain can represent the blessings and miracles the early church experienced. Acts 5:14-16 tells us that the sick who were brought to church “were all healed.” Every sick person who came got healed! If that could happen with the early rain, how much more the latter rain? Believe God this year that you will experience supernatural healing!
4.THE LATTER RAIN BRINGS FAMILY BLESSINGS
The latter rain also brings about a blessed family life. In Deuteronomy 11:21 (a few verses after God talks about the latter rain), it says, “That your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.”
As stated in last month’s message, “Fight for your Family,” God knows, and we also know that there are struggles in the home that have never been seen before. There are disciplines in the home that never have been observed. There are pressures in the home that have never been present in times past. God, the Author of the family, will bring the latter rain blessing upon the family.
5.THE LATTER RAIN BRINGS INCREASED ANOINTING
Joel 2:28 says, “ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:” The anointing of the Holy Spirit is represented by oil. Oil lubricates creaking hinges and tight gears, so they work smoothly and efficiently. Spiritually speaking, when God’s anointing is on you, things go smoothly for you.
In I Samuel 9, the story is told of how Kish sends Saul his son with one of his servants to go and look for his lost donkeys. They went through four nations in fruitless search until Saul met with the anointing by divine arrangement. The prophet Samuel essentially told Saul that his problem had nothing to do with his father’s lost donkeys (asses), but rather with Saul’s lack of anointing.
6.THE LATTER RAIN IS BETTER ENJOYED IN A CHURCH
I believe 2022 is going to be your greatest year yet. The past few years and months might have been the darkest, possibly due to infections, the death of loved ones, the closing of the church building, and people reluctantly easing their way back into church building, etc. However, from now on, it will be a time of harvest; a time of being inundated with God’s overflowing, manifested blessings (Joel 2:24)!
God’s “showers of blessing” are best experienced when His people gather in a physical location as the church (body of believers)! Ezekiel 34:26 says, “I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.”
7.THE LATTER RAIN BRINGS A TIME OF REJOICING
There is an anointing of gladness, which is one of the special operations of the Holy Spirit. It is empowerment for joy unspeakable, joy unstoppable, and irresistible by the Holy Ghost. Joel 2:23 says, “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.” His throne is forever sustained by the empowerment of the Spirit and anointing of gladness. Psalm 45:6-7 and Hebrews 1:8-9 both say, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” As a minister of God, the Spirit of joy and rejoicing is a special operation of the Holy Spirit which empowers you to fly to a world of no limits, where you are unstoppable, irresistible, and cannot be silenced (Isaiah 61:1-6). In Luke 10:21, the LORD Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit because of the things kept from the wise and prudent but revealed to them who are called the sons of God. Are you ready for the return of the spirit of rejoicing to the church? Get ready, get ready!
CONCLUSION:
While we cherish the blessing of the early rain, we must not lose sight of the latter rain. Without the latter rain to fill out the ears and ripen the grain, the harvest will not be ready for the sickle, and the labor of the Sower will have been in vain. Divine grace is needed at the beginning, divine grace at every step of advancement, and divine grace alone can complete the work.
Isaiah 44:3 says, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants.” As Christians, we sometimes experience dryness or drought due to trials and tribulations that affect our spiritual growth and lives. We need the rain of the Holy Spirit in our lives, like never before, to nourish and refresh us always so that we can be fruitful for and in His Kingdom. Hence, we need to prepare ourselves through faith for the second coming of Christ by living our lives by the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25).
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus through the Holy Spirit, Who will help us to live a holy life and be Soldiers for Christ. For those yet to surrender their lives to Jesus, this is not negotiable; do so now, tomorrow might be too late. Friend, all you need· now is to break up the fallow ground of your heart. It is time to seek the LORD until He comes and rains righteousness upon you. Then there will be a turnaround, a revolution, in your life! DO IT NOW!
PRAYERS:
- I give thanks to the LORD for all He has done for me in January through November, and for what He will do in the remaining days of this year.
- The Philistines on my assigned breakthrough, hear the noise of chariots and horses and start running even as the “strangers fade away and are afraid of their closed places” (Psalm 18:45).
- I remove the garment of shame and bondage, terminating every failure and fruitless labor in my life and destiny, in Jesus’ Name.
- Every heaven that is shut against us, preventing the rain of blessings to fall on us, we declare that you be opened now, in the Name of Jesus!
- I believe in the LORD Jesus Christ, therefore, these showers of blessings are mine today, in Jesus’ Name.
- Zechariah 1:17 says, “Cry yet, saying, thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad.” Holy Spirit, restore prosperity back to the church. All those who are faithful in their tithes to the church, open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, “that there shall not be room enough to receive it” as You promised in Malachi 3:10, in Jesus’ Name!
- Father, like Joseph, I receive and wear a coat of many colors to make me attractive and admired by people everywhere I go.
- I decree that the terror of the night, the arrow of the day, the pestilence of darkness, and the destruction of noonday shall not be your portion (Psalm 91:5-6), in Jesus’ Name. No plague shall come near your dwelling. I declare that all your journeys this year shall be safe – on land, air or water, etc., in Jesus’ Name.
- Like Haman, every agent of Satan against my destiny shall be hanged on their own gallows in Jesus’ Name. Like David, I overcome, disgrace and defeat every Goliath of my life. “Greater is He that is in [me] than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
- Thank You, LORD, for answered prayers. You will crown my year with Your goodness. “You drench my plowed ground with rain, melting the clouds and leveling the ridges. You soften the earth with showers and bless its abundant crops.” (Psalm 65:10, NLT)