Thousands of people — many holding umbrellas aloft in faith — united in a day of heartfelt prayer for rain at the Toyota Vrystaat Rugby Stadium in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
Against a backdrop of a serious drought in the Free State, Northern Cape and other parts of South Africa, prayers were uttered in English, Afrikaans and SeSotho, calling for rain to bring relief to struggling farmers and for hearts of people to turn back to God.
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Ansa Labushagne, who attended the event, asked some attendees what the day had meant to them. Hope in Jesus, spiritual hunger, unity in prayer, humility before God and desperation, are some of the themes conveyed in their impressions:
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I am reminded when I think back to the early years of my life, during the 80s when we would gather at the ‘Twee Toring’ church to pray for rain during the drought of that time. People would gather during their lunch break at 13h00 and the time would be a holy convocation of believers from all walks of life.
Those meetings leave an unchallengeable legacy that our God remains trustworthy. It was those times that built my faith in God, though I was young, I can recall that God has always been faithful, a prayer was answered rain came and mankind rejoiced.
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This past Sunday at the Toyota Stadium has been such a precious event for believers to gather together to exercise our faith in Almighty God that through His beloved Son He will hear our prayers again. How beautiful was it when an entire pavilion of people kneeled before God and confessed our reliance upon Him. How precious was this, the worship together acknowledging His Lordship over our lives? The prophetic statement – Opening the umbrellas revealing the faith of the crowd that God will provide.
The unity in faith reflected during the event in the stadium, made in clear that the church of Jesus Christ is alive in Bloemfontein. I am sure that it opened a door for future events of similar fashion.
Thank you that we could participate with you, to seek the face of our God and trust together that HE will bless us with the much needed physical and spiritual rain, Amen!
— Deon Bosch
Dankie ek het Sondag se middag slapie prys gegee en saam met ander gelowiges voor God ons Vader gaan bely en smeek om ons gebede te hoor en ons genadig te wees om ons te seen met reen in ons droee land.
Om groot mans te sien huil en hande vas te hou en te weet ons kan nog saam staan al is daar soveel onenigheid en geweld in ons land. Vader, is dit miskien U doel om ons te dwing om hande uit te steek na mekaar, want almal raak dors en almal raak honger? Dwing U ons om te erken dat net U die honger en dors na die Lewende Water kan stil? Vader vergewe ons dat ons twyfel, want U het die Hemel en aarde geskape met net woorde wat U gespreek het. So se ons dankie vir woorde wat U gaan spreek en wolke wat sagte reen gaan gee op ons dorre aarde. Vader en so gaan ons weer hande vat om U te loof en prys wanneer ons veld weer groen is want ons hou vas aan U belofte, dat U ons nooit sal verlaat en vergeet nie. Dankie in die naam van Jesus wat vir ons op ‘ n ereplek voorspraak doen.
— Elize Penz
Sondagmiddag se neerbuig voor God Almagtig was om eer, en heerlikheid toe te berei aan Hom. Om te erken dat ons gesondig het en dat ons HOM nodig het in alles!! Om HOM te erken in al die windrigtings as die ENIGSTE ALLEEN WARE GOD en dat Suid Afrika aan HOM alleen behoort!!!
— Benetha Kotzé
Dit was vir ons n goeie ervaring om te sien dat almal in eenheid, die Here se aangesig soek & saam bid sonder pretenies, ons sal dit graag meermaal wil meemaak, as dit moontlik is.
— Margaret Myburgh
Sunday 17 November 2019 will be a day that I will always remember. It is a day where the Holy presence of the Lord was touchable on the Toyota Stadion in Bloemfontein. Bloemfontein have a prophetic word over her that she is a fountain and that life will flow from her.
We were like a small Gideon gang – representing our beloved South Africa with family and friends that were on their knees at home, praying with us. As sons and daughters of the Most High God we came before His Holy Throne in unity to humble ourselves before Him, to kneel before Him, to Praise and Honour Him.
Our prayers and prophetic actions were led by different pastors, intercessors and leaders out of the community. There was a cry to God not only for physical rain, but also for spiritual rain. A deep hunger and longing that the Lord will touch our land and heal it from its brokenness.
We also come before the Lord, tired and exhausted from the spiritual battles we are fighting and let Him touch us and renew our strength. We prayed also earnestly for our famers (there were farmers also represented on Sunday) that play an important role and who bring life through food production. They need our prayers and support, we collected money that will cover expenses for the day and the rest will be handed over to the famers as part of the Sutherland farmers distress call.
Our Father is Love and we pray for love to restore our marriages, families and South Africa. Prophetic words filled with life were declared over South Africa to the north, the south, the east and the west. We drew a line in the spirit and struck the ground like the king told Elisha in 2 Kings 13:18.
Our Lord Jesus is Victorious and we stand in His Victory that He will deliver South Africa from the curses declared over her!!! Filled with faith in the Living God we opened our umbrellas, delighted ourselves in the Lord God Almighty and worshipped Him and thanked Him for spiritual and physical rain. The peace that surpasses all things filled us and we still walked in that same Peace. WE LOVE YOU FATHER, JESUS AND HOLY SPIRIT!!! OUR GOD!!!
— Ansa Labuschagne
The Volksblad newspaper in Bloemfontein yesterday had some good news regarding the drought — it reported that the Orange River in the Aliwal North region, which had run bone dry, began flowing again on Sunday, after rains in Lesotho, bringing relief to farmers.
The organisers of the prayer day are also involved in raising funds for food for Sutherland farmers who are struggling to survive in a drought that has entered its seventh year.
Donations can be paid into the bank account: Onbeperkte Menswees, Standard Bank, account number 411013971, branch code 014645. Proof of payment should be sent to marieletuys@gmail.com. All donations are tax-deductable as the charity is an Article 18(A) NPO. Donors who provide their email addresses will be sent donation certificates for tax deduction purposes.
More information about the campaign can be obtained by calling Marielet Uys at 082 372 6258 or Arno van Niekerk at 084 208 6211.
Watch SABC Digital News report on the stadium prayer event:
I remember the Its Time event in Mitchells Plain where we gathered to pray for rain. I remember how so many people scoffed and criticised us for praying to “our fairy in the sky”. I remember the many miracles of that day…one being that not one single crime was reported in a gang infested area with 70% unemployment, how gangsters came up and committed their lives to Jesus. I remember how the weather service promised another dry year for Cape Town. I also remember how much it rained that year, how our drought was broken, how this year it rained again and how full our dams are…… The story of the Free State prayer day reminds me again of how great our God is.