I have a green t-shirt with yellow printing, obtained from Spartan Christian Fellowship, that says “Pray Like a Farmer” and pictures a corn cob. I always figure farmers pray because they need good weather so their crops will grow. Deuteronomy 11 provides additional context for the wisdom of that shirt.

Moses is recounting the commandments and retracing the history of the Israelites as they prepare to move across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. He tells them in verses 10-12:  “For the land which you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. The Eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. ”

In Egypt, the Nile provided water for planting and irrigation whenever you needed it (except maybe when it turned to blood or was full of frogs or junk).  But the terrain in Canaan requires timely rain from heaven to make the crops flourish.  This fits with the rest of chapter 11, which ties blessings; rain; and abundance with following the LORD but also curses; drought; and famine with following after the gods of the nations they will be displacing.

Most anyone could survive in Canaan, but the people who flourish will be God’s people who meditate on his word and teach it to their children, who obey his commandments, love Him with all their heart, sing praises and offer prayers regularly to Him. They will be blessed; the rain will come in its season, and the harvest of the fields and vineyards will overflow.

God picked this territory for HIS people, because they needed to trust HIM in order to live there.