Church programs for Monday, Jan. 22 will resume their normal schedule at all locations this evening.
Leawood’s Sunday night in-person worship has been moved to 4 pm for Sunday, February 11.
4:1 Jesus began to teach beside the lake again. Such a large crowd gathered that he climbed into a boat there on the lake. He sat in the boat while the whole crowd was nearby on the shore. 2 He said many things to them in parables. While teaching them, he said, 3 “Listen to this! A farmer went out to scatter seed. 4 As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path; and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 When the sun came up, it scorched the plants; and they dried up because they had no roots. 7 Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked the seeds, and they produced nothing. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and bore fruit. Upon growing and increasing, the seed produced in one case a yield of thirty to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of one hundred to one.” 9 He said, “Whoever has ears to listen should pay attention!”
What kind of “ground” are you when you pray? Do you ever feel like your prayers are not reaching God’s ears? Like you are just talking to the air, or talking to yourself? Sometimes, we have to prepare ourselves before we come to God in prayer, so that we are able to receive what God wants us to know.
Today’s parable is a great illustration of hearts prepared to hear God’s voice, and hearts and spirits that just aren’t very ready to receive God’s love and guidance. When we come to God in prayer, does lack of attention leave God’s words to be gobbled up by our own scattered thoughts? Do we prepare to meet with God by reading his Word and nourishing our minds and spirits so that the love and guidance we receive in prayer keeps on growing in our lives? Do we guard against letting the thorns of negative thoughts and fears choke out the assurance that God loves us?
How can we prepare the “ground” of our hearts and minds to hear God’s voice? We can read God’s Word before we pray. (Warning–Shameless Plug: The Daily GPS is a great way to do that.) We can take a few minutes to clear our minds and calm our Spirits. My favorite way to do that is with a “Breath Prayer,” like this:
<Deep breath, breath in>
Holy Spirit clear my mind
<Long breath out>
Help me listen
<Deep breath, breath in>
Prepare my heart to hear
<Long breath out>
And my mind to focus
<Deep breath, breath in>
Lord, help me feel your presence
<Long breath out>
And know your love.
Amen.
This week's prayer tip is by Jennifer Creagar, the Community Assistance Coordination Director in Resurrection's Congregational Care Ministry. She is married and loves spending time with her family, and she enjoys writing and photography.