Several years ago, there was a drought in one city and the pastor of the Church called for a prayer meeting to pray for rain. The prayer meeting was held on a hot summer evening. All the members came out dressed in cool summer clothes since they would be there for a while praying. When Sister Betsy arrived at the Church, everyone heard her approaching as her shoes were making a loud noise. Everyone turned to see why she was making such a loud entry as she entered the Church. What they saw tickled them and some of the members laughed softly.
Sister Betsy was entering the Church wearing rain boots, a raincoat, a hat, and an umbrella. She looked a sight in the sweltering heat. Some members thought Sister Betsy had finally lost her mind – that her elevator was no longer going to the top floor.
The pastor looked at her with much concern. He comes down from the pulpit and approaches her. “Sister Betsy are you all right – are you feeling okay?” Sister Betsy looked at him confused by the question and replied, “I feel fine.” Then the pastor asked her, “Well I must ask, why are you dressed this way? Didn’t you feel how hot it is outside? You must be burning up in this outfit. What possessed you to wear all of this tonight in this heat?”
Again, some members continued to snicker and laugh under their breaths while others now became truly concerned for Sister Betsy’s mental state. She looked at her pastor and then scanned the faces of the rest of the members and said: “You know pastor, I too was confused when I walked into the Church. You see, I thought we were all coming here to pray for rain, and I expected there to be rain when we left. I am confused as to why none of you are dressed for rain since that is what we are supposed to be here asking from God.”
Sister Betsy was the only one in the Church who came expecting God to answer the prayer for rain. This is the type of faith we should have when we pray to God. We believe that He has answered the prayer and until it is manifested, we continuously thank Him for doing so