Sowing and Reaping

Do you feel like giving up when you don't see your prayers answered? I do. You pray and pray and even fast but there doesn't seem to be any result. Part of you wants to go on hoping that your prize is just around the corner but another part says, 'Give up while you can; you don't need the heart-ache.' Sometimes you pray and get an answer but it looks nothing like the answer you were expecting. I want to encourage you not to give up. Your prayers are not wasted. They are not a lost cause. In fact, it's when all seems lost that you must not quit!

Think about the farmer getting ready to sow. He prepares the soil for seeding. The work is hard and the farmer puts in many hours of sweat and toil. When the soil is ready, he carefully deposits the seeds in them. Once the seed has been incorporated into the soil, the farmer can safely retire from his labour.

For a period of time, all is quiet.  Every morning the farmer looks over his fields where he has sown but sees nothing; no results. If there is no visible outcome for what he has put in, has his investment failed? But while there is no movement on the ground's surface, below the dirt, strong roots are emerging, and pushing downwards in search of moisture. The tiny seedlings burst out of their jackets and begin their upward climb seeking to free themselves from the weight of the soil they are under. But none of this happens immediately or overnight.

There is a period of waiting; a time where the farmer has to exercise patience, self-control and perseverance. Patience because he can do nothing to quicken the process but allow nature to take its course. Worrying doesn't make things move along any faster either. Why self control? Because he must resist the urge to dig them up to check if roots are showing. Can you imagine what will happen if he did? He risks aborting the germination process and all his efforts will be lost.  And perseverance because he cannot give up tending the ground - to keep it sufficiently watered, weeded and free from known pests.

All  of this requires a measure of FAITH. The farmer does not depend on a random chance or luck that something will happen to make the seeds grow. He knows they WILL. It is an established science that repeats itself no matter how many times the farmer does it. It is a formula that works.

God's word cannot fail because God cannot fail. His reputation is tied up in His word. Do you know the One who you have committed your prayers to? Jesus said if our earthly father knows how to give good things how much more will our Father in heaven give to those who ask Him? He is trustworthy to do all He promised. God is fully capable of doing what He said He would.

We are not sowing our prayers in the air where strong winds blow them away.

We are not sowing our prayers in the sea where shifting currents wash them away,

But we are sowing them in the rich soil of God's  FAITHFULNESS and LOVE.

And we know God NEVER fails.

What are you sowing? Where are you sowing? How are you waiting?