Honi and Chutzpah

In 2011, Mark Batterson published a book called, The Circle Maker. It took me a while to get around to reading it, mostly because it make instantly trendy (like The Prayer of Jabez years ago) and I sometimes find myself suspicious of things like this—how accurate are they? Are they just popular because of prosperity Gospel? What does the Bible really say?

However, after reading Lois Tverberg's chapter on chutzpah on in Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, I couldn't help think of this book. Of which... I don't remember much other than that it's based on the premise of the story of a Jewish who lived a century before Jesus named Honi. Apparently, Honi was a humble man who loved God. Once, during a severe drought, the people asked him to pray for rain.

So, Honi went out and drew a circle in the sand. He got in it and prayed for rain, ending with "I'm not leaving this circle until it rains!" 

And it began to rain, just gentle drops. And Honi said, "That's not what I wanted, but rain to fill cisterns, pits, and caverns". 

And it began to rain violently. "So again, he prayed, 'This is not what I wanted, but rain of goodwill, blessing, and graciousness.' Then it began in just the right way, nourishing crops and restoring the land. (page 124 of Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus). 

I love that this story comes from the inter-Testamental period, the 400 years of silence between Malachi and the birth of Jesus in the Gospels, because it shows how there were those who truly loved God and remained faithful during that time. 

Honi is a great example of chutzpah. But while he definitely benefited from the rain as well, I love that this falls in line with Tverberg's principle of chutzpah often being for the sake of others. He wasn't praying rain for himself, but for the community that was suffering greatly and would continue to without it.

I asked this last week, but I'll ask it again. How can we pray with chutzpah for those around us?