What happened when farmers obeyed God’s call to host prayer days for rain

Testimonies of God’s responses started coming in six hours after they prayed

Last week we reported on how God independently prompted the owners of two Eastern Cape farms to host prayer days for rain on their land on Saturday March 13.

This week we report on what happened after the farming couples, who don’t know each other and live about 300km away from each other, obeyed the Lord’s will, even though they wondered why He had chosen them for the assignment to arrange prayer for rain in their areas and in other parts of South Africa which were in the grip of a prolonged and heart breaking drought.

At 10am on Dikkop Vlakte, the farm of Tommie and Carine van Kerken, between Grahamstown and Bedford, a little over 100 people — from the area and other drought-hit places as far afield as Port Elizabeth, gathered for prayer under a blazing hot sun.

Also at 10am that morning, Shelley Pringle of Healing Grace Ministries, who had learnt of the farmers’ prayer days for rain, began livestreaming next to the Thomas River on Saxonholm Farm in the Cathcart area, inviting people to hop online to join her in praying in unity with the other farm prayer gatherings.

And at 2.30pm in the bone-dry Steytlerville area in the Karoo, Danie and Karin Bellingan, assembled for prayer with about 16 guests on their farm, Kranskop. It was so hot and windy that they decided to pray indoors.

Carine told Gateway News that many other people who couldn’t be at the farm events prayed in unity with them from their homes.

She said at Dikkop Vlakte they asked God to send a cloud to shield them from the scorching weather — and He was faithful, as she later spoke to some of the elderly people who attended and they said they didn’t feel the heat.

She said that as well as praying for rain there were humble prayers of repentance and they broke specific strongholds over dry areas — something which she believed was necessary.

Six hours after their prayer day started the first video clips and testimonies began coming in of rain falling in some of the drought-stricken areas — “specifically from places we have covered: Loeriesfontein, Askham — there up north where it was very dry, Calvinia, Oudtshoorn, Beaufort West — there are so many videos coming in,” said Carine.

At 10pm — 12 hours after they began praying — she said they heard a loud clap of thunder over the farm followed by a rain shower — “not much but I knew this is God!”

By the morning 25 mm of rain had fallen on the farm.

“We honestly believe that the drought is over and that change will come to South Africa because rain is a sign of blessing,” said Carine who says they expect to be hosting a big thanksgiving day soon.

Tommie shared a testimony the Van Kerkens received yesterday from Eljo and Kobus Els who farm between Grahamstown and Fort Beaufort where they say they were entering their seventh year of drought.

Eljo said they were at the Dikkop Vlakte prayer day on Saturday. The day impacted them deeply and they had left believing God heard their prayers of confession.

On Sunday afternoon it started to rain on the farm and by Monday morning 32mm of rain had fallen. During a storm on Monday afternoon another 43mm fell. Together with the testimony she sent several video clips — of the rain storm and the Koonap River flowing strongly on their farm.

From Kranskop Danie confirmed they had 6mm of rain on their farm on Sunday night — and they believe the breakthrough is close. 

Karin said while there were not a lot of people at their prayer day for rain, “God was certainly there!”

She said that on Saturday “we had so many butterflies in the garden — I don’t know where they came from”.

And for Sjani As, who travelled from Port Elizabeth to attend the prayer day at Kranskop, the butterflies were a confirmation of a vision she had had during a time of intercession on February 16.

Sjani said that in her vision she saw the leaves of a pot plant transform into a big cloud of butterflies which circled overhead. While the vision did not connect with their prayers at the time she interpreted it as a sign that God was going to do something new and a fellow intercessor felt led to pray Hosea 2:19-23 in the Amplified version, which includes the words: “It will come about in that day that I will respond,” says the Lord.
“I will respond to the heavens [which ask for rain to pour on the earth], and they will respond to the earth [which begs for the rain],”

She said when she arrived on the farm on Saturday she was struck by the mass of butterflies which had the same, distinctive markings as the butterflies she saw in her vision in February. Then she saw pot plants on either side of the farm house front door. The plants’ leaves had the same distinctive shape and markings as the pot plant in her vision.

Then I just knew that that vision that I saw on the 16th, that I didn’t know what it was about, that it was for this day. And that what God had said to me was for this day — the change that is coming, the miracle, the renewing and a new beginning.”

The Van Kerkens said that among the testimonies they received from people who attended the prayer day at Dikkop Vlakte, were several of people who said they saw angels — ascending and descending and pulling back clouds to release rain.