As a farmer, I see rain as a funny thing. I'm rarely happy about the amount, it's timing, whether it arrives in a hard or soft fashion, or whether we even need it at the moment....because I'm apparently a self-designated genius about how, when, where, and how much rain is needed at any given time.
I have no control over the rain, regardless of how much I want to, so I do my best as a steward of the land that has been entrusted to me to plant the right seeds, use the right amount of fertilizer, keep the weeds out, and grow the best crop I know how with the resources I have. This has been a tough spring. The saying goes,..."Rain makes Grain"...which is true, if you get the rain in July and August, when you really need it. If so much of it comes in April, May, and half of June that you can barely find 6 days out of those 70 or so days to do field work it makes me think, "Rain doesn't make grain....it makes grumpy farmers." I will confess my selfish prayers. The latter part of May, I was praying to God for the rain to stop. I knew He could do that, but I also knew He was probably looking at a larger picture my little Ryan brain couldn't get wrapped around, and I was OK with that.....mostly. But He was faithful. He did stop the rain (hopefully not for good) long enough for us to get everything planted the first and second time. The point I'm attempting to make is God's timing often doesn't line up with my ideal mental plan. As concerned as I get about rain or no rain, I have no control over it. God tells us to be faithful with what He entrusts to us, which I attempt to do, and He'll take care of the rest. Nothing I do in the field would be fruitful if God didn't take part in it.
The same could be said for another kind of seed. There are people I pray for everyday, people I would like to have know about the salvation that Jesus has offered us. I can pray for them, talk to them, be a friend to them, go out of my way to care for them, but ultimately, I can only plant a seed in that person. God is the one who controls the rain to make that seed grow too. We have to trust that he will bring the physical rain for the crops in my fields, and the spiritual rain to grow the seeds we've planted in the people we love.
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." 1 Cor. 3:6-7