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 returning to the story that Jesus told about a farmer who planted seeds in different types of soil, but this time we’re REFLECTING on the meaning behind the story.
Read by Selah
Mark 4:14-20 (abridged, NCV)
Mark 4:14-20
The farmer is like a person who plants God’s message in people. Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like the people who hear the teaching of God, but Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. But since they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives, they keep it for only a short time. Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, but the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires keep the teaching from growing. Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit – sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more.
A good gardener will always check what the soil is like before planting any seeds, because if the soil isn’t good, then the seeds won’t grow.
In today’s Bible passage, Jesus explains that the seeds represent the message of God and God’s kingdom, and the soil represents our hearts, where the message – the good news – gets planted. The big question, of course, is what our hearts are like. Are our hearts ‘good soil’, where God’s message can grow so that we become more like Jesus?
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When have we planted some flowers or vegetables? How long did they take to grow?
And now, we ASK God to plant His message in our hearts.
Lord God, we want our hearts to be like good soil where Your message can take root, so that we grow to become more like Jesus.
Jesus says that some seeds don’t grow because they get crowded out by weeds, and he says that some of these weeds are worries. Let’s pray for those who feel crowded by worries at the moment – maybe we know someone who feels like this.
Father God, if possible, we ASK You to remove the things that they are worried about – dig out the worry-weeds. But most of all, we ASK You to be with them – to comfort them and give them strength to trust You.
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 4:14-20
Mark 4:14-20 (abridged, NCV)
The farmer is like a person who plants God’s message in people. Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like the people who hear the teaching of God, but Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. But since they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives, they keep it for only a short time. Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, but the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires keep the teaching from growing. Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit – sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more.
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, we thank You for the stories that Jesus told. We say YES to Your message being planted deep into our lives, so that it can grow big and strong and so that we can become more like Jesus.
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.
