Week: Mark's Gospel
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Jesus, we hear Your invitation, and so we choose to follow You, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Selah
Proverbs 3:5
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today we’re REFLECTING on another story that Jesus told to help people understand more about God and God’s kingdom.
Read by Selah
Mark 4:26-29 (NCV)
Mark 4:26-29
Then Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground. Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows. By itself the earth produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. When the grain is ready, the farmer cuts it, because this is the harvest time.’
Most of us have probably planted seeds at some time. But even if we haven’t, we know how they work. First, we poke the seeds into some soil. Then we cover them with more soil and maybe water them. And then… we wait. We probably check every day to see if anything has begun to grow, and maybe we water them a little bit more. And then, eventually, something appears! That’s the exciting bit – when the first shoot emerges from the soil. What began as a tiny seed eventually grows into something incredible, and sometimes what grows can be enormous.
And Jesus says that God’s kingdom grows just like this, little by little, in the world around us, and in our lives too.
Let’s press pause and chat about today’s question, which is: What things grow and change slowly, perhaps without us noticing?
Waiting patiently for things to grow and change isn’t always easy.
Lord Jesus, we often want things to happen quickly in our lives, but we know that some things take their time to grow. We ASK You to help us wait patiently for all that You are growing in and through our lives.
Lots of different people are planting God’s seeds into our lives – people like the children’s workers and youth leaders in our church. Let’s pray for them now.
Father God, we ASK You to give these people some extra wisdom and strength. And remind them that even though they plant lots of seeds for You, only You can make the seeds grow. Help them to be patient and to trust You too.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Mark 4:26-29
Mark 4:26-29 (NCV)
Then Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground. Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows. By itself the earth produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head. When the grain is ready, the farmer cuts it, because this is the harvest time.’
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Father God, You’re like a Master Gardener, planting seeds in our lives and taking care of us. We say YES to all that You are doing in our lives, even the things that are taking a long time to grow and change.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Proverbs 3:5
Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Selah is 14 and she lives in the middle of The USA in Kansas City, with her parents, sisters and dogs. Selah loves adventures and plays (and watches) all kinds of sports. She also enjoys science and likes inventing and building things…especially if they help others in some way.
