The state prayed.

It would appear that God provided.

Since June 30 (2007), the day Gov. Bob Riley designated a week for residents to pray for rain, Tuscaloosa has seen .55 inches of it. Given that in June Tuscaloosa measured just under/s1 inch of rain for the entire month, more than half an inch within a week might indicate there is something to it after all.

Meteorologists report that the rain totals have rebounded slightly, and some places have faired even better. Troy, for instance, topped the list at 3.20 inches in the week.

“Most places have had at least a quarter inch of rain," said Michael Garrison, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham. “It is wetter. And we have the highest rain chances we’ve had probably in several months set for this weekend."

The chances for rain today in Tuscaloosa are between 70 and 80 percent, Garrison said.

Whether the rain arrived by coincidence or divine intervention is up to individual interpretation, but praying for rain is something that cultures have turned to throughout recorded history.

“It is part of what it means to be human," said Michael Murphy, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Alabama. “The thing that impresses me the most is in anthropology we’ve never found a society that didn’t try and influence forces beyond their control."

Scientists say the weather cannot be controlled and yet people are bound to do whatever is within their power to influence weather. In the past, that’s included sacrifices, rain dances, magic and countless other forms to influence a deity or some other supernatural force.

“There are a myriad of forms, anything you can image to entice these occult -- and what I mean by that is hidden -- forces," Murphy said.

Riley, a Southern Baptist, turned not only to the prayer but also to the federal government in trying to ease the state’s drought-induced suffering. Four days after calling on Alabamians to pray, Riley issued a statement thanking U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns for designating all 67 counties in Alabama natural disaster areas.

Riley had requested the disaster declaration in a letter June 7, a designation that makes farmers eligible for low-interest emergency loans.

But being declared a natural disaster doesn’t solve the root of the problem. To do that, the governor turned to people like Bishop Jeffrey Webb, who believe in the power of prayer.

About five weeks ago, Webb instituted a new prayer service at Faith Apostolic Christian Center in Tuscaloosa, where he is pastor.

“It’s my belief that if everyone got together at the six o’clock hour and prayed, you would see a decent amount of change across the state," Webb said.

Members gather at 6 a.m. on Wednesday to pray for God’s presence. It’s a service that has been growing, with about 40 people attending last Wednesday.

“And we’re seeing some major dealings going on since we started this," Webb said. “We do not specifically ask for anything like rain but just asked for God’s presence in helping us with our needs, which could be in the form of anything from a house payment to rain."

Not every religious leader in Alabama shares Webb’s concept that praying can make it rain. The Rev. Michael Thompson, pastor of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Tuscaloosa, said while he can’t speak for the individual members of the congregation, the congregation has not prayed for rain together.

“I think basically it’s a waste of time," Thompson said. “I don’t think it works. In a nutshell, that’s where I stand. … Rain, or lack of rain, is caused by the working out of natural phenomena and there is nothing supernatural involved."

Still, Alabamians aren’t alone in bowing their heads. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue recently urged residents to pray for rain, and South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds proclaimed a week a year ago to pray for rain during a drought.

“One of the reasons religion is diagnostic of humanity and it is a trait all human societies have, I think, is in part because it touches on our frailty," Murphy said. “Our ability to intervene in a practical way is a part of how we think, but when that fails then these religious traditions and rituals come to play."

The article above was found on Google and was published originally on Dateline Alabama