A drought in the Western Cape province of South Africa began in 2015. It resulted in a severe water shortage in the region, most notably affecting the city of Cape Town, with dam levels declining to critically low levels.
It was on January 17 2018 that Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille announced that the city had reached “a point of no return” in its water supplies, and Day Zero was then virtually guaranteed in a matter of weeks, making Cape Town the first major city to run out of water.
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However by June 2018, in a matter of two months of good rains dams haD been refilled to about 45% of capacity. The City of Cape Town announced that Day Zero was not a possibility for 2019.
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Moreover the water crisis in Cape Town drew international attention. CNN reported on June 1 2017: “The worst drought in a century is forcing the most stringent water restrictions ever implemented for South Africa’s second largest city. Cape Town has less than 10% of its useable water remaining for its nearly 4 million residents”.
But Our God, YHWH!
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This week marks the sixth week of continuous rainfall that has been desperately needed in the city that was parched just less than two months ago. Figures released by the Western Cape government recently has had residents rejoicing as it is written: ”The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose and the autumn crocus. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the Excellency of [Mount] Carmel and [the plain] of Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty and splendour and Excellency of our God. — Isaiah35:1-2
Prayers of the saints
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing—grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber. 17 Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ “–Joel 2: 12 – 17
The Lord has surely answered the cries of the saints as can be seen from the records below of readings on Monday this week (July 9 2018).
Praying in unity
The Body of Christ has been gathering in an unprecedented manner, especially over the past six months, to pray for the rain corporately and privately. Most gatherings in the city brought believers across denominational lines to cry, repent, petition, pray to Elohim to send the rain.
Now is not the time to stop praying, but to intentionally gather for the common good, at ground zero for all — a point where we all have been emptied and lost our worldly identity in titles, religion qualifications, positions, associations, tribes, etc. — showcasing that as sons and daughters we are not only able to pray together in times of crisis, but to live and work together in oneness.
There can be no better place than for Cape Town, the Mother City to showcase this miracle and wonder of unity in diversity as the ecclesia (church). Unity is a prerequisite for revival.
Was not the hand of God on ground zero for Cape Town?
We thank Our Heavenly Father for the rain in Cape Town, even so in advance we thank Him for the fullness and the overflow of the dams from Cape to Cairo to Jerusalem. Let it rain!
May the overflow usher streams of life that Africa needs in this season (Ezekiel 47:1-13).
We thank Thee,our father and provider,so we have seen in Cape Town,first the spiritual fire,then the prayers,and hardly six weeks later You started pouring down,the rain we have humbly asked You for… Thank You in Jesus Mighty Name..Amen…
Not in our time but in His time! His timing is perfect and all to His glory and not the glory of man. Many false prophets have tried to predict, all have failed, prayer is always answered as He sees fit, He is sovereign and we are merely recipients of His grace.
Amen and Amen!
The water crisis in the Western Cape has been a whirlpool of confusion and deception.
The deception went to such an extent that up in Gauteng well-meaning people were duped into collecting hundreds of 5 litre bottles of water for donation to needy people in the Western Cape. Quite how all these bottles were to be transported and fairly distributed is another question. The irony that most of these bottled water brands are sourced in the Western Cape anyway.
While drought conditions are common to the arid western half of South Africa, many believe this is more a political crisis – there is nothing quite like scarcity to make self-important politicians feel relevant. Haughty government officials seem unable to resist the opportunity to lord it over the general public.
Over the months I have ready various articles criticising the civil government for water wastage and about water resources not fully utilised. The truth of the situation is not as they say it is in the media.
While it is right for us as Christians to pray for rain, and then give thanks to God when our prayers are answered, let us be wary of being manipulated by humanist politicians exploiting vulnerable situations for their own power.
Proverbs 20:12 = Ears to hear and eyes to see – both are gifts from the Lord.