I’ve never been one to shirk from a challenge, but even I would be nervous about the challenge Pastor Stefan faced.  When the mayor called him and asked him, “Pray for rain,” Stefan realized it was more than a concern for the weather.  It was a dare, a trial that could give the town an excuse to drive Stefan and the church out of their village.

The church in this village is quite young.  When Stefan received that call few years ago, the church was new with only a handful of members.  Everyone in the village was against them.  Even the other churches were fighting against them.  People wanted to see the church fail.

So when Stefan received that request for prayer from the major, he was suspicious.  When pressed, the major admitted that the priest had made the suggestion.  There hadn’t been rain for three months.  Without rain, there wouldn’t be any harvest.  In Moldova that means no food for the winter.  If the mayor could force the Pentecostal church to pray and nothing happened, it would be enough reason to run them out of town as heretics.

As Stefan sat with the mayor, he felt God say to him, “Tell him it will rain Friday.”  Stefan quickly pushed that thought aside.  He didn’t want to stick his neck out like that!  Yet the thought returned, “Tell him it will rain Friday.”  Again, he tried to dismiss the thought.

Suddenly Stefan realized his mouth was moving, saying the words that he kept trying to swallow!  It was too late to take them back, so he called the believers together that Wednesday evening, asking them to fast and pray for rain.

They fasted and prayed, trusting God for a miracle.  Three months with no rain, the forecast showing no change ahead.  The future of the church was teetering.

Friday night it rained.

As a boy, I faced lots of dares–truth and dare, double-dog dares, dares of courage and stupidity.  Childhood dares normally involve LOTS of stupidity!  Stepping out in faith and trusting God to work a miracle is NOT in the realm of stupidity, when God has asked you to do it. When God asks you to step out and trust Him, you will find that He is trustworthy.

When we play it safe, we are forcing ourselves down a miracle-less path.  We are destined to see the 5000 walk away hungry rather than fed by a miracle.  We are stuck with building our own tiny kingdom rather than seeing God build His kingdom.  We are stuck with ourselves.

When God asks us to give financially, we are faced with a dare.  Do you dare risk your little with God’s ability to provide?  Do I dare risk sacrificing some pleasure (coffee, new clothes, new toys) with the intangible reward of eternal investment?

The dare to step out and trust hits us in a myriad of decisions.  Can we risk our reputation by sharing about Christ?  Can we risk our pride by trying to start a ministry?  Can we risk our hearts by caring about someone?  Can we risk our lives by trusting Jesus with everything?

The Bible is full of dares.  God challenges you to love.  To give.  To pray.  To believe.  To trust in the dark times.  To minister.  To tithe.  To speak the truth in love.  To forgive (even if the other person never gets their just dues).  To preach.  To hold on when you don’t hear His voice.

Maybe you are not asked to pray for rain, but do what God has asked you to do.  He will not let you down.

Daring to believe in Moldova,
Andy Raatz