Ian Hastings, a grain farmer, told the Fairxfax publication that the rainfall was good news for the farming community since it gave them some security about the crops being planted on the ground. He further added that farmers would rejoice over the rainfall.
"It's very good for us to have a good rain so we can have some security about putting our crops in the ground," said Hastings to the Fairfax publication. "They'll be absolutely rejoicing."
In recent weeks, John Howard had called on Australians to pray for rain to break the drought in Australia. The call to prayer had wide support among the Christian community.
The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) supported the Prime Minister calls for rain and through its spokeswoman, told Christian Today Australia that she hoped that Australians could grasp the 'seriousness' of the circumstances and respond in kind.
"Many Christians have been praying for rain for quite a long period of time and we would urge them to continue to do so," the ACL spokeswoman said. "It's good to see the Prime Minister encouraging the whole community to pray for rain and we hope people throughout Australia will grasp the seriousness of the situation and respond to this challenge."
The power of prayer cannot be underestimated, with Pastor Terry Walker, from the Tribe of Judah a motorcycle Christian ministries, reminding Reverend Col Stringer about this point.
In the telephone conversation, Pastor Walker reminded Reverend Stringer about how the former Premier of Queensland, Sir Joh Bejelke-Petersen, once asked for the state to pray for rain and, 'when they had responded it had always rained.'