Episode #2: 1 Christopher 2 - Prayers, drought and work

Jan,15 2026

<-#1: 1 Christopher - Chapter 1 - Matters of Shame#3: 1 Christopher - Chapter 3 - the wife's concern ->

Concerning prayer, drought, and the work set before us

2:1

After these things, the rains failed,

and the ground hardened beneath the sun,

and fear settled upon the fields of the village.

2:2

And I came again to Christopher,

for my crops withered

and my household depended upon them.

2:3

And I said to him,

"Pray for me, and pray for my land,

that God may send rain."

2:4

Christopher listened and did not turn away,

but he did not lift his hands nor bow his head at once.

2:5

Instead he said,

"Why do you ask another man

to speak to God in your place?"

2:6

I answered,

"Because you are closer to Him than I,

and I am afraid."

2:7

Then Christopher said gently,

"God has not placed Himself far from you,

nor has He appointed me as a gate."

2:8

"For we do not pray by permission,

nor by rank,

but by breath and need."

2:9

"Each man may speak to God directly,

as a child speaks to a father,

without witness and without fear."

2:10

"And yet," he added,

"it is good to pray together,

for shared hope lightens the heart."

2:11

Then he said,

"But better still is this:

let us go to your land."

2:12

And I was troubled,

for I had expected words,

not footsteps.

2:13

But he walked with me to my field,

and he stood long without speaking,

watching the wind move the dust.

2:14

He knelt and broke the soil in his hands,

and said,

"The earth is not cursed.

It is only dry."

2:15

And he asked me,

"Where does the rain go when it comes?"

2:16

I answered,

"Down the slope and away."

2:17

Then he said,

"That is the first thing you must change."

2:18

He showed me how shallow lines

could follow the shape of the land,

so that water would slow

and remain.

2:19

He spoke of covering the soil

with straw and cut grass,

that the sun might not steal

what little moisture remained.

2:20

He pointed to the bare edges of the field

and said,

"Plant trees here,

not for fruit,

but for mercy from the wind."

2:21

He told me to turn the crops each year,

so that the ground would not forget

how to give.

2:22

He spoke of gathering rain

from roof and ditch,

and holding it in stone and earth

until it was needed.

2:23

And he said,

"Do not plow too deep,

for you bring hunger to the surface

and bury life below."

2:24

I said to him,

"These things are not prayer."

2:25

And he answered,

"They are care.

Prayer begins there."

2:26

Then we stood together in the field,

and he said,

"Now speak to God,

for your hands know what to ask."

2:27

And I prayed, not with fine words,

but with gratitude and fear mingled.

2:28

Christopher did not correct me,

nor add to my prayer,

but stood in silence beside me.

2:29

And I understood that he had not refused me,

but had honored me.

2:30

For he taught me that God is not persuaded by hunger,

but pleased by responsibility.

2:31

And though the rains did not come at once,

the field endured longer than before.

2:32

Thus I learned that faith is not a plea alone,

but a partnership,

and that wisdom often answers prayer

before the sky does.

<-#1: 1 Christopher - Chapter 1 - Matters of Shame#3: 1 Christopher - Chapter 3 - the wife's concern ->