Call for continuous prayer for rain in PE area

Port Elizabeth prayer warrior Blessing Marunga is calling on Christians in the area to participate in a campaign of continuous prayer for rain in the drought-stricken area from May until the end of the year.

“When we go to an event to pray for rain it is good and we have seen God move. But the season has changed and in this season I believe it is time for persistent prayer,” he said in an interview this week.

“I believe our Heavenly Father is a God of continuous fellowship who wants us to seek Him all the time and not to just seek Him out of panic or because of an incident,” he said.

“Prayer is a passion of the soul, so if we seek God continuously He knows our needs. I believe God will not let His children go without water. But let us be intentional and seek our Heavenly Father and humble ourselves and say: ‘This [produce rain] alone You can do.'”

Regarding PE’s water crisis at a time when dams in most parts of the country have plenty of water, he said “there is always fighting against the city” because PE is a city set apart for revival.

“It is a season to pray persistently for PE and I believe darkness is going to flee from the city as we do so,” he said.

Last year Blessing rallied local believers to join him in a campaign of 90 days of prayer for world revival and this month — April 2021 — he has mobilised Christians to participate in a “360 prayer campaign” with 360 prayers prayed during the month between 6am and 6pm daily and a final week of 24-hour prayer.

He said that during last year’s 90 days of revival prayer there had been a good response when he designated one of the daily hourly gatherings as a day of prayer for rain and revival. He also said that those participating in the April 360 prayer campaign have been very faithful.

He said he believes people are hungry and ready for persistent prayer. He was therefore calling on believers to commit to pray for rain on one day per week between 9pm and 10pm until the end of the year. To join the campaign they should WhatsApp him at +27 78 944 1391 with the message: “persistent prayer” and their preferred day of the week.

Participants will be added to an accountability WhatsApp group where they will be asked to “sign in” weekly when they begin their prayer time.

“We don’t want to assume somebody is praying — we want to know they are praying,” he said.

While the campaign is aimed at mobilising local Christians to pray, he says people from any area who would like to pray for rain in the PE area are welcome to participate.

Blessing’s call for continuous prayer for rain in the PE area coincides with the sending of a letter from the Speaker of the council of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Jonathan Lawack, to religious leaders spelling out the dire situation of the city’s water storage dams, and calling on them “to spread the word of saving water, but more importantly to pray for rain in our catchment area”.

The letter notes that the average level of dams serving the Nelson Mandela metropole is below 14% and some communities are already experiencing intermittent water supply. It also says the level of the largest dam, the Kouga Dam, is below 5% and at below 3% no more water can be taken from the dam. Citrus, crop and dairy farmer in the important Gamtoos Valley agricultural area rely on the dam for water.

On Saturday April 17 about 300 Christians from the region gathered at the Kouga Dam to worship God and pray for rain. Despite pessimistic rain forecasts in the area over the next three months, people who participated in that event have expressed faith for God to miraculously fill the dam. Another prayer and worship event at the dam — especially for the local farming community — will be held from 3pm on Sunday.

And from 10am on this Saturday — May 1 — Tommie and Carine van Kerken are hosting a rain thanksgiving service on their farm, Dikkop Vlakte, between Grahamstown and Bedford. Carine told Gateway News last week that there was good rain after they hosted a prayer day for rain on their farm on March 12. She said there hadn’t been much rain thereafter but they believe it will rain after their thanksgiving service.