Words from the Lord: "The rain has begun falling! Your drought is coming to an end!"

The Lord says: 

"Your drought time is coming to an end! There's a renewal happening in My people! There's a fresh release of My Spirit and My living waters on those who have been going through a time of barrenness. My rain has begun falling! Heaven is open! I am pouring My Spirit on those who need refreshing! I am causing life to return again! Your land will be filled again! Your rivers will flow again!"

Before we go further, what is the definition of this word 'drought'? In geographical or physical terms, it can be defined as 'a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water'. In an agricultural society, this is a big thing, people! Because it affects the very livelihood of the people in the land. In short, no water means no life! 

In your context, your situation may not be a geographical or physical drought, but it may be spiritual drought, financial drought, drought in your career, drought in your business, drought in the ministry, or any kind of drought in any area of your life. 

Even if at the moment, there seems to be no sign of the 'drought' ending in your physical eyes or in the physical realm around you, and there seems to be no sign of any 'rain cloud' coming, keep trusting in the Lord and keep looking to the Lord! Just like in Elijah's days when he asked to look at the sky for any sign of rain coming!

In an agricultural society like in Israel those days, the coming of rain is synonymous with drought coming to an end. Beloved of God, this can apply to you spiritually or in any area of your life that has been going through a time of drought. 

I declare that the rain from heaven is coming upon your life! There will be a new life! There will be refreshing! There will be renewal!

After a great victory at Mount Carmel, let's look at 1 Kings 18:41 onwards now. 'Then Elijah said to Ahab (the king), "Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of abundance of rain."' At that time, the land had been experiencing a long drought and severe famine for several years (about three and a half years). Maybe you too have been experiencing some kind of 'drought' recently. Take heart. Rain is coming! There will be refreshing and renewal again! 

Let's read further. 1 Kings 18:42-43 says, 'So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing." And seven times he said, "Go again."' 

Elijah knew once the false prophets of Baal were defeated and the worship of the false god of Baal stopped, the drought in the land would also stop. It means rain was about to come. That's why he told his servant to check it out for any sign of rain. In the meantime, what did Elijah do? He went to the Lord in prayer, and he worshiped the Lord. 

1 Kings 18:44 says, 'Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he (the servant) said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!" So he (Elijah) said, "Go up, and say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.'"'

Elijah was a man of faith. He would not take no for an answer, even if the servant couldn't see any sign of rain yet. Elijah just knew the rain's coming. He had this deep confidence in the Lord that the time for rain is coming! 

The same it is in your situation. Never give up on the Lord doing His part. Keep looking to the Lord. Keep praying. Keep declaring God's purposes in your life to come to pass. Keep waiting on the Lord, and keep hoping in Him that He will make good His promises in your life.  

So, even with the little sign of cloud, as small as a man's hand, and based on this sighting, Elijah knew an outpouring of rain was about to come. That's why he told Ahab to prepare the chariot. And true enough. See what happened next. 1 Kings 18:45-46 says, 'Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.' 

God's promise of rain came to pass. The long drought was finally over. The rain has come. Hallelujah! And look here. There was a supernatural empowering on Elijah, so much so he even ran ahead of Ahab's chariot!  

Beloved of God, there's also supernatural empowering from heaven being released upon you right now. There will be a renewed strength in your life. There will be a new vigor coming in your life. You shall begin to see a new purpose in your life. You will look ahead with great hope and anticipation. Amen! 

The Lord says further:

"Watch My hand making things happen in your life! Watch My hand making things happen even in the nation or the nations of the world. My rain is coming! For I am calling you to declare what you see and hear from Me! For I am raising up many watchmen and watchwomen in this time and season, who see how I see, and to declare it!" 

Yes, declare what you see and what you hear from the Lord! Declare it into being by faith!

Isaiah 21:6 says, 'For thus has the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman; Let him declare what he sees."' 

See the word 'watchman' here? What is the purpose of a 'watchman' (or 'watchwoman')? The answer is here: To declare what he sees (or what she sees) in the spiritual realm. It means, as the Lord says, you say. And as the Lord puts in your heart to declare, even in your prayer time, declare it into being. Be faithful in this, and God will show you even more and amazing things to come! 

Looking back at Isaiah 21 here, what is the definition of 'watchman'? The word 'watchman' here is 'tsaphah' in Hebrew, from the word that means 'to lean forward, to look into the distance, to watch, to observe'. 

So, you lean forward to hear from the Lord. The heartbeat of the Lord. What the Lord is doing in each time and season. What the Lord is doing right now. And you walk accordingly. And if He asks you to declare it, you declare it faithfully. 

It can also mean 'to look into the distance'. Yes, to look into the future. The Lord is going to show you, as you open your heart to the Lord, surrender to the Lord, and yield to the Lord. Yes, as you commune with the Lord. As you worship the Lord. As you pray in the spirit. And you'll be able to watch, and you'll be able to observe what the Lord is doing. You will cause many people to avoid their pitfalls. You will prevent evil through your prayers. You will declare things into being. Even in the nation or nations that the Lord has put in your heart to pray for. And this anointing of the watchman is being released upon you right now!

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Why is it important to 'watch and pray'?

The Lord says He is in the midst of raising up many watchmen in this time and season. These are spiritual watchmen who would hear from Him and release His words to prepare the people for what's going to happen. They would even give early warning for any impending danger or potential trouble, so as to prevent certain evil or danger from happening to the people.

By the way, when it is mentioned 'watchmen' here, it can also be women. Indeed the Lord is raising up many such men and women for such a time as this. 

There are many references in the Scripture about 'watchmen'. For example, in 2 Kings 9:17, it is written, 'The watchman on the tower of Jezreel saw Jehu and his company approaching, so he shouted to Joram, "I see a company of troops coming!" King Joram then ordered, "Send out a rider to ask if they are coming in peace."'. 

Here, you can see that one function of watchmen is to keep watch against any physical threat or danger to a particular city. Those days, in cities, especially important cities, watchmen would be positioned on the high walls or at watchtowers, so that they can see far ahead into the distance, in order to keep watch against potential threat or danger against the city.

Today, we will look at the definition of this word 'watchman' according to the Scripture, and the functions of 'watchman', especially in the context of our New Testament times. 

The word 'watchman' here is from the word 'tsawfaw' in Hebrew, and it can mean any of these: 

- to peer into the distance;

- to lean forward and watch over;

- to be alert and be on the look out;

- to keep watch and observe;

- to sound the alarm and give a warning. 

Of course, watchmen can be physical watchmen, but it can also be spiritual watchmen, which is our topic of interest today. 

Why 'watchmen'? 

In the Scripture, 'watchmen' are like the guards who are given the task of protecting cities, towns, farms, and even fields. They are tasked with protecting all these from surprise enemy attacks or other potential dangers. They would keep watch and warn the people in the city of any potential threat or attack from outsiders. Not just that, watchmen are also tasked as 'scouts' to be on the look out for approaching visitors into the city, whether friends or enemies, as you can see just now in 2 Kings 9:17, when King Joram was inquiring if the visitors were coming in peace or not. Of course, what you see here in this verse was 'watchman' in the physical sense. But 'watchman' can also be in the context of spiritual and prophetic sense. 

You see, generally, everyone should be watching and praying. Jesus Himself said to His disciples to watch and pray (Mark 14:38). So, generally, everyone should watch and pray! However, some are appointed by the Lord for specific purposes as spiritual watchmen. And usually, they will have the prophetic dimension with them. Some are appointed by the Lord to be watchmen for a certain ministry, for a certain entity, for a certain family, for the nation (or nations), and some are watchmen for the Body of Christ. 

What do they do? 

They would be interceding. They would be 'standing in the gap' to ask the Lord to intervene, for example, for the future of a particular nation, or for what is happening in the Body of Christ. This is crucial especially in a challenging time like now. 

So you see, the Lord does appoint spiritual watchmen in preparing His people in this end-time. And He is preparing His people for what's coming in each time and season, and even sounding the alarm for what's coming. Why? In order to prevent His people from falling into trap, pitfalls, or temptation. 

But of course watchmen's task can sometimes be very challenging in its nature. Because not everyone would accept what they say. You can see that in Hosea 9:8, 'The prophet is a watchman over Israel for my God, yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes. He faces hostility even in the house of God.' 

Watchmen may face hostility from outside the Body of Christ, but watchmen may also face hostility from within, even among the believers. You see, there can be a situation when genuine prophetic voices are not heeded by the people, and these watchmen are even persecuted by their own people. Because many people tend to only want to hear what they want to hear, and reject what they don't want to hear. This is the 'price to pay' if one is called as one of those spiritual watchmen of the Lord. 

But if you are a spiritual watchman for the Lord, and you know you are one of those whom the Lord has appointed especially in this challenging, perilous time, I want to encourage you. Blessed are you! Because even though you may be persecuted in different ways, the Lord is with you! 

In Matthew 5:10-12, Jesus Himself said: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Hallelujah! It means the kingdom of heaven is upon you, working in you, and working through you. And you are the expression of the kingdom of heaven on earth. His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen! Jesus continued: "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." This is the cross-reference to Hosea 9:8 that we read just now. 

So watchmen, keep being faithful before the Lord, and keep speaking as His mouthpiece. Let Him put His words in your mouth. As you speak and declare, and as you do as He tells you to do, things are going to change according to His will. He is not dead. He is still very much alive. And He is still intervening. If there are times you don't know what to pray specifically, pray in the spirit, because praying in the spirit is praying in the perfect will of God. You are calling heavens down. You are calling the perfect will of God down on this earth. Amen! 

I want to pray for all the spiritual watchmen in our midst today. I pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to rest on you. I pray that your spiritual eyes will continue to be enlightened, to see and gaze into the many things in the spiritual realm. You are going to see many more things in the spiritual realm that the Lord wants to show to you. The Lord has appointed you for such a time as this, and not man. I want to release this anointing upon you. Grace upon grace be with you, and you will grow in this ministry, from faith to faith, from grace to grace, from glory to glory. Amen! Hallelujah! 

Prayer: "O Lord God, we thank You for Your words today that You are in the midst of raising up many spiritual watchmen. We bless Your holy name. We want to be faithful to be who You have appointed us to be. Teach us to be vigilant and alert to Your revelations. Teach us to function in more effective ways for Your name's sake and for Your glory. We humble ourselves before You, and we allow You to use us as You wish. In the name of Jesus. Amen." 

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