The middle paragraph of the Shema comes from this week’s Torah portion, Ekev, which says that rain is a reward for our love and service to G-d. This meditation is on the blessing of rain. I wrote it on a sleepless night in a one-man tent during a rainstorm at a campground overlooking the Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. This piece appears in This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day from CCAR Press. To listen while you read, click the triangle in the bar below.
Come, Rain
Come, rain,
Pour forth
Upon this barren land,
Upon this barren heart.
The earth is dry,
My chest is withered
And love has fled
For more fertile ground.
Come, rain,
Pour forth
With abandon,
Fill the air with moisture,
Feed the ground with promise,
Let living water
Soak through me,
A gift of heaven,
A gift of holiness,
A fountain of glory,
A well of healing,
A source of power,
Pounding through my thirsty veins.
© 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day
Postscript: My other prayers about rain include “For Rain,” “The Flood” and “About the Rainbow.” This prayer first appeared on this site on March 15, 2015.
Please check out my ELItalk video, “Falling in Love with Prayer,” and This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day. For reprint permissions and usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” To receive my latest prayers via email, please subscribe (on the home page). You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo Source: Alden Solovy
Tags: healing and love, love, rain