A certain city had been hard hit by severe drought. For months not a single drop of rain had fallen. The residents’ cattle were beginning to die and the once beautiful landscape was gradually turning into one of desolation.
One day a man appeared in the region claiming he could make it rain.
He gathered together as many people as he could in the main town square and said:
“I talk to God. Together we can bring rain back to this city, except we all need to believe in the power of prayer. Invite as many people as you can to join me in a sunrise prayer tomorrow morning, at the city church, where we will pray for a plentiful, immediate rain. But only those with an unshakable faith should come.
News spread quickly from house to house, and long before sunrise on the following day, large processions of people were making their way to the church from all over the city. When they arrived, they got on their knees and began to pray.
Sunrise came and went, and the prayers continued for several hours, but there was no rain. Then one of the people came up to the man who had claimed that he talked to God, and asked:
“We’ve been on our knees praying for hours now. Where is the rain?”
The man replied in a loud voice so that all would hear:
“Remember, I said only those with an unshakable faith should come, but that has not happened.”
“How can you say that?” protested a lady in the first pew of the church. “We all got up early, came down here to the church, this place is packed with people and no one has stopped praying since we arrived.”
“Alright then,” said the man, “I want to see a show of hands of everyone who brought an umbrella with them this morning.”
Total silence. Then one by one people started to leave, only then realizing what an "unshakable faith" really meant.
Only an unshakable faith in what you cannot see makes the impossible, possible.
* Extracted from Bishop Macedo's blog
