Some seasons don’t require a new plan—they require a new posture.

Leviticus 26 is one of those chapters that makes it plain: God’s love is unconditional, but His blessings are often conditional. Not because He’s withholding, but because He’s shaping. He sets a choice in front of His people—blessing or struggle—and then ties it to a word we don’t always like:

“If.”

“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands…” (Leviticus 26:3)
“You will have such a surplus… you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest.” (Leviticus 26:10)

That’s the theme of this season: making room. Clearing out space in our hearts, minds, and spirits for God to move something new in.

But here’s the tension: we’re in the middle of prayer and fasting, and for some people it’s not feeling powerful. You’ve been praying… and it feels like nothing is happening. You’ve been fasting… and you’ve been looking for a reason to mess up.

Prayer can feel like the least practical solution to real problems. It can feel passive—like sending a rescue flare into the sky and hoping someone sees it.

And yet, from heaven’s perspective, prayer is anything but passive.
James says the prayer of the righteous is effective and powerful.

So why does it feel so ineffective sometimes?

Because we often treat prayer like a last resort when God intended it to be a first response.

Sometimes the groundwork nobody sees is exactly what sets the stage for the miracle everybody needs.

The Story: A Miracle in a Dry Place (2 Kings 3)

In 2 Kings 3, God’s people are in a mess. The kingdoms are divided—Israel and Judah—forced into an uneasy alliance because Moab has rebelled. To live in peace, they have to go to war.

So King Joram (Israel) reaches out to King Jehoshaphat (Judah): “Will you fight with me?”
Jehoshaphat answers with unity: “We are one people… what’s mine is yours.”

And then they do what most of us do under pressure:

They start planning, not praying.

“Which route should we take?” (2 Kings 3:8)

They choose the wilderness route—indirect, dry, “safer” strategically—but it becomes the worst option spiritually. After seven days:

“They had no water for the army or their animals.” (2 Kings 3:9)

Now panic hits.

Joram says, essentially, “God brought us out here to destroy us.”
But Jehoshaphat finally asks the right question:

“Isn’t there a prophet of the LORD here? Let’s inquire of Yahweh…” (2 Kings 3:11)

And that’s the turning point. When strategy runs out, spirituality finally shows up.

How to Make Room for a Miracle

1) Pray First

Prayer often feels ineffective because we treat it like a last resort instead of a first response.

When we pray last, we end up in waterless places—then we cry out for a miracle.

God’s model is the opposite: PRAY FIRST.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer… present your requests to God. And the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds…” (Philippians 4:6–7)

When you pray first, peace stands guard—even when you don’t understand.

It’s like a boxer: the moment you drop your guard, you get hit. Prayer keeps your guard up. Not because everything suddenly makes sense—but because you’re no longer facing it alone.

And in the middle of this crisis, notice who isn’t panicking: Elisha. The prophet is in the camp too. While everyone else spirals, he knows how to hear from heaven.

2) Dig Deep

Elisha does something surprising before he gives direction:

“Bring me a musician.” (2 Kings 3:15)

Sometimes we want answers, but what we need first is presence. Worship helps us find God’s presence in dry places.

Then Elisha speaks God’s instruction:

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig ditch after ditch in this wadi.’” (2 Kings 3:16)

A wadi is a valley that’s dry most of the year—only filled during seasonal rains. It’s the last place you’d dig for water.

And that’s the point. God isn’t telling them to dig to find water.
He’s telling them to dig to hold and direct the water He’s going to send.

That’s what prayer and fasting can feel like: digging in dry ground.

It’s work.
It’s faith.
It’s obedience before evidence.

God says, “I’ll send the water… you dig the ditches.”

Think about the Suez Canal. In the 1860s, crews dug a trench through desert for about ten years (1859–1869). People watched like it was ridiculous—a canal in the desert? Then it opened in 1869: a channel linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.

The canal didn’t create ships. It created a path.

That’s what ditches do. They don’t create the miracle. They create room for it to flow—and to stay.

If God answered every prayer you prayed this week, how much would actually change?

We can “pray” without praying—like saying sorry without repentance. There’s a difference between the habit of prayer and the heart of prayer. Digging deep means you stop using prayer for surface-level stuff and start bringing God your deepest fears, dreams, concerns, and needs.

If it’s big enough to worry about, it’s big enough to pray about.

3) Watch and Wait

Elisha says something that should reset your view of God:

“You will not see wind or rain, but the wadi will be filled with water… This is easy in the LORD’s sight.” (2 Kings 3:17–18)

What feels impossible to you is easy to Him.

So after you pray first and dig deep, there’s one posture left:

Watch and wait.

Not passive waiting—faithful waiting. The kind that says, “I’ve obeyed. I’ve believed. Now it’s only a matter of time.”

Then comes one of the most powerful lines in the story:

“About the time for the grain offering the next morning, water suddenly came…” (2 Kings 3:20)

That detail matters. The grain offering was a daily act of worship.

So they worshipped before they saw the water.

That’s the question:

Are you worshipping while you wait?
Are you trusting God’s character enough to praise Him when you’re weary, dusty, and it feels like you’ve been working without results?

Because God said: you won’t see wind, you won’t see rain… but all of a sudden there will be water in your wadi.

Dig Some Ditches

This is why prayer makes room for miracles. It’s doing what you can do to prepare for God to do what only He can do.

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
“If my people… pray… then I will…” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

So here’s the challenge: dig some ditches this year.
Don’t just hope for a move of God—make room for it.

Pray first.
Dig deep.
Watch and wait.

God sends the water.
We dig the ditches.