Many believers are getting frustrated with their prayer life. They pray but don’t see answers. If they do see answers, they are kind of hit-and-miss. When I talk to people in this situation, I often find that they haven’t given God a seed to work with. You may be asking yourself, “What do you mean by giving God a seed to work with?” In the rest of this letter, we will look at what the seed is, how to plant the seed, and what to do while waiting for the harvest. In other words, your answer to prayer.
So, what is the seed? In the parable of the sower, Jesus informed us that the seed was the word of God. (Mark 4:14 KJV) We need to base our prayers on the word of God. 1 John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (KJV) God’s will is his word. As a matter of fact, God places His word above His name. By doing that He is attesting to the fact that what He has placed in His word is what He has done, is doing, and will do. He left it for us so we would know how to approach Him; what He has promised us; and how He has equipped us, to mention a few things about the Word of God.
In Genesis 1:11-12 God said, “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” This passage tells us that natural seeds produce after their own kind. Apple seeds produce apples, and tomatoes produce tomatoes, etc. The same holds true for the Word of God. Healing scriptures (seeds) produce the faith for healing. We can’t meditate on strength scriptures and get peace of mind. We need to meditate on scriptures that match our needs. We are told in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (KJV) Scripture (seed) produces faith for what it is talking about.
Once you get a seed in the natural, it has to be planted before it will produce. The same is true with the word of God. So where and how is the word of God planted?
Let’s look over at Mark 4:4-20 and find the answer to that question.
“The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”
In this passage, Jesus mentions four soil types. Each one of these has to do with the condition of your heart or spirit and what you do with the seed of the word. The first one mentioned is the wayside. These folks hear the word and do nothing with it. They hear it and go on with their lives. The seed just lays on top of the soil of their hearts or spirits. Think of yourself wanting to get grass to grow in your yard, but all you do is throw the seed out on the ground. You don’t water it, you just leave it to sit. I did that once and the next day a bunch of Starlings were having a nice lunch at my expense.
The next soil type listed is stony ground. These folks hear the word and are excited about what they have heard. Unfortunately, the Lord says they have no root in themselves. This means they have heard the word, but didn’t get into the word and look for more scriptures on the particular subject. They didn’t meditate on it and get it settled. When persecution arose for the word’s sake, they caved in and gave up.
The third type of soil that is mentioned is said to have thorns and those thorns choke out the word. This group heard the word and meditated on it, planted it in the soil of their heart and it started to produce. It had to have started producing or Jesus wouldn’t have said it became unfruitful.
The fourth and final soil type is good soil. It is soil that has been tilled and watered and fertilized. This group hears the word, meditates it, and after praying they continue to confess the word over the seeds they have planted. They thank God for the answer they have received by faith.
We need to keep in mind that meditating on the Word is like tilling up the soil of your spirit. As you meditate the word, muttering it over and over, and thinking about what the verse says, the Holy Spirit drops things into your spirit and as you keep meditating, He drops more and more into your spirit. It will get to the point where it all gels and your spirit will shoot the revelation of it to your brain and you have an “ah-ha” moment. You know that you know the promise is for you.
When you get to this point, you go to God in prayer, tell Him what you need and the verses you are standing on. When you do that, you are planting the seed. We continue to water the seed and fertilize it by continuing to speak God’s word over the situation and thank Him for the answer before we ever see it.
Many believers think they will get their answers instantaneously. That isn’t always the case. More times than not it comes over time. Plants in the natural don’t spring up overnight. It takes time for your answer to come. During this time between planting and harvesting, you need to be aware that our adversary, the devil, will be trying to get you to quit believing for what you have asked. He will bring up so-called reasons why God won’t grant your request. It is usually something out of your past that means you aren’t good enough to get it.
Satan wants you to think that because of your past, which God says has passed away (2 Cor 5:17), that you aren’t eligible to receive from God. The truth of the matter is, you are eligible to receive from God. Your eligibility isn’t based on your performance but on Jesus’ performance. Your receiving from God is based on your performance to use your faith and stand in faith.
The verses that you meditated on become weapons to use against Satan when he tries to come against you. When he comes with thoughts of doubt and defeat, you speak out those verses on which you meditated. They are now a sword to use against the enemy. Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow.” (KJV) So, speak the word and defend your garden from the enemy.
Harvest time is what we all want to see in our prayer life. In Mark 11:23 Jesus told His disciples that they could have what they say if they didn’t doubt in their hearts, but instead believed. He also said this in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (KJV) According to this verse, you must believe by faith that God has granted your prayer request. You believe it at the time you pray. If you do, then you will receive it. If you don’t believe you received it when you pray, then you won’t receive it. You might think that is not right, but we need to remember God is a faith God and we need faith to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Once that harvest manifests itself, you don’t quit confessing those scriptures because the enemy likes to try to steal your harvest. So, keep thanking God just like you did during the growing time, and thank Him afterward as you continue to confess the scriptures you used to get the harvest. Remember, the word is a spiritual sword to be wielded it to keep the enemy at bay.
An important thing to remember is the Bible says seedtime and harvest (Gen 8:22). Seedtime means the sowing season. When we talk about sowing, we need to remember it this way; seed time and harvest. There will be a space of time between sowing and the harvest.
So, the next time you are going to God to request something be sure to give Him a seed to work with.
God bless!