Joy Faith Stories
(as written down by Rosalie Joy-one of my aunts) 

How Grandpa and Grandma (George and Joy Bell Joy) learned to pray for rain:

The dirt was blowing, and the crops were blowing out. Grandpa and Grandma went to the church, and asked the church to pray for rain. One of the people there said, “You can’t pray for rain”. The pastor said, “I won’t pray for rain until all the people in a 10 mile radius of the church are saved.”

Grandpa and Grandma went home pretty low. The same day, or the next day, Grandpa went out to try to keep the fields from blowing by plowing lister ridges.

Grandma Joy was in the house, and she took her Bible. She knelt in front of the couch, and told the Lord, “I’m going to hold my Bible, and let it fall open on the couch. I’m going to begin to read wherever it falls open. If the word rain is there, I’ll know it’s okay to pray for rain.” Her Bible fell open to Job 5, and Grandma said, “Oh, Lord, there’s no rain in Job.” But, she had promised God she would read wherever it fell open, so she began to read. She read as far as verse 10, it said, “He gives rain on the earth, and sends waters on the fields.”

Grandma jumped up and yelled, “Thank you, Lord”. She ran outside, jumped in the car, and tore out to the field, bouncing across the lister ridges. She ran Grandpa down on the tractor, and said, “George, we can pray for rain!” Right then Grandpa stopped and came to the house, and Grandpa, Grandma, and all four kids got on their knees and prayed. I’m not sure it if rained that night, but despite a forecast of five days of NO rain, it rained in the next day or two – 2 inches!

Another time when Wayne was about 10, the wind was blowing, and the dirt was flying. It had blown for several days, and the forecast said, “No rain in sight for the next five days at least”. Wayne said to Grandma, “Mom, can’t we pray for rain?” Grandma said “Yes, let’s pray right now”. She grabbed Wayne’s hand, and they went up to Wayne’s room and knelt by the bed and prayed. It rained that night.                                                                                                                                  more Joy Faith Stories