Most everyone in the US has heard about our drought here in Georgia. Also, if you follow the news, you also remember that Sonny Perdue (Gov of GA) led a prayer on Nov 14, 2007 for rain. He joined lawmakers and ministers on the steps of the state Capitol for this prayer. He prayed, “God, we need you. We need rain.” (thats not the whole prayer, but thats part of it) This was not the first time he led a prayer for rain. In June, Perdue, State Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin, some Central Georgia farmers and others gathered at the Georgia Farm Bureau headquarters in Macon to pray for rain.
What did people have to say about it?
- The loudest opposition to Perdue’s move came from the Atlanta Freethought Society, a secular group that planned to protest at the vigil. “The governor can pray when he wants to,” said Ed Buckner, who was organizing the protest. “What he can’t do is lead prayers in the name of the people of Georgia.”
- BBC UK – …But boy does the dotty stuff keep happening here: the latest being governor Sonny Perdue’s prayers for rain on the steps of the Atlanta statehouse. Anti-Americans, the softer European variety, look at that kind of behaviour and wonder at America’s capacity for self-delusion and religious literalism.
- Time/CNN – When Perdue’s spokeswoman said prayer was the answer, because “the issue at the heart of our drought is a lack of rain,” she was wrong. The issue is a lack of water, and the best way to retain more is to consume less–with less lawn-sprinkling, car-washing, irrigating and sprawl.
So what is the outcome, well take a look at the US drought maps below. Since Nov, the rain has diminished the drought significantly, and the emergency expected for the summer has been averted! Does this mean that we still don’t need rain? No, we could still use rain over the next few months. What it tells me is that our leader prayed for rain, and it was rain we got over the past 4-6 months. It’s not rocket science people, its the power of prayer.
Now…