Here is a word of encouragement to all of us intercessors and kingdom shakers praying for the Lord’s heart in this land. Listen to the words of Jesus in The Parable of the Sower Matthew 13:18-19:
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means (see Matt. 13:3-9): When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.”
Previously, for some reason, I’ve thought of the seed in this passage as the message of the gospel…the good news about Jesus and salvation. But notice, in this parable, the seed is actually the message of the kingdom…which is much grander than simply the gospel of salvation. That is the full rule and reign of Jesus in every aspect of society, both in the Church and even broader than the Church. Second, let’s look at who and what the Sower and the seed are in another parable, the parable of the Wheat and Tares, Matthew 13:24-31.
Jesus continues to explain this in Matthew 13:37 and following:
“The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom.”
In this parable, Jesus is the Sower. He’s the One sowing the seeds among the world, but the seeds do not represent the message of the kingdom this time – rather, the seeds are actually us…the sons of the kingdom. We are what He is sowing. He is sowing those who are sons and daughters. Lord, reveal to us our identity as sons and daughters so you can sow us where you will.
I pray that we are listening well because we want to be effective and efficient. We don’t have time to be planted in the wrong places. I’m believing that as we listen well, He will sow us in the most strategic locations to reap the greatest harvest for His kingdom. I pray we will get so close to the Father’s heart that we will know our identity as sons and daughters and become seed that will stick wherever we are planted, and produce more and more children of the kingdom, in Jesus’s name.
Father, we thank You that you are the best Sower. Thank You for doing the hard work! Thank You that we are Your sons and daughters. Plant us, the seed, in the most fertile patches of the soil of the world, specifically here in Ireland. And may You bring many more sons and daughters to glory, in Jesus’ name.