Luckily, at this very moment, I am thousands of miles away from Mumbai, watching videos of roads that have turned into rivers, cars bobbing about like reluctant boats and commuters wading through water with expressions that suggest they have finally accepted that fish have better transport facilities than humans.
I must confess I am rather relieved I am not there.
The amusing part is that just a week before I left, everybody was talking about something entirely different.
The city was dry. Reservoir levels were low. Newspapers carried anxious reports.
Conversations ended with, "We really need rain."
Prayer meetings were held. People sincerely asked God to send showers upon the city.
Apparently, He listened.
The only problem is that nobody seems to have believed He would do so!
There is an old story I never tire of telling. During a terrible drought, a church announced a special prayer meeting for rain. The hall filled with people who prayed passionately. They pleaded with God. They quoted Scripture. They sang hymns about His faithfulness.
Then a little boy walked in carrying an umbrella.
Everyone laughed.
"What is that for?" they asked.
The little fellow looked surprised.
"Aren't we praying for rain?" he replied. "I thought God would answer."
It is remarkable how often the smallest believer has the biggest faith.
Sometimes I wonder whether Mumbai's preparations reflects our prayers. We asked for rain but behaved as though the skies had misplaced our request. Drains remained clogged. Water channels seemed to have forgotten they were meant to carry water. Low lying areas behaved with astonishing consistency by flooding exactly where they always flood.
Perhaps Mumbai needs to remember that faith is not merely asking. That faith is preparing.
When a farmer prays for a harvest, he also ploughs the field.
When a student prays to pass an examination, she also opens the textbook.
When we pray for rain, perhaps we should also clear the drains, repair the pumps, inspect the floodgates and expect that heaven will actually respond.
Faith is expectation put into action.
The little boy's umbrella preached a sermon far greater than many sermons delivered from pulpits.
He believed his prayer would be answered.
Maybe that is the question the floods asks Mumbai today.
When you prayed, did you really believe God heard you? Or were your prayers simply hopeful speeches directed toward the ceiling?
The next time we ask God for something, perhaps we should quietly carry our umbrella.
After all, there is no point praying for rain if we are surprised when it falls, right?
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