“The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21).

It is easy to be tossed about by the winds of this age.  A glorious experience feeling the Lord’s presence can be swept away by the next thing that comes along.  Being a follower of Christ includes everything you are.  It is not easy.  To ride on emotions is to guarantee being tossed about.  The word of the Lord will plant you firmly where you may grow despite your circumstances.

Lord, teach me to see the weather of this world, its flowing winds, gales, and the rocky places that will distract me.  You have given me the words of eternal life.  Without You and without being rooted in You, I will be blown away by the prevailing winds of the times.  Let me not be carried away by this world or its wickedness but grow where You have planted me.

Lord Jesus, You are giving sound advice and telling me to grow where I am planted.  Help me to be permanently rooted in You so that I may grow as You give the  growth.  Help me to stand firm against the winds of this age.  Help me to keep my eyes upon You so that I may be transformed to Your image and grow into Your likeness.  Through all things, help me to see that You are the One who is leading me.  Amen.

“Listen then to the parable of the sower.  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road” (Matthew 13:18-19).

If your heart is closed down you will believe the lie and reject the truth.  This is the way of this wicked generation.  If the Lord opens your ears do not again harden your heart.  At first, it will be difficult, for the truth can be hard that will truly set you free from the bondage of this age of death.  The Lord has sown His word in you and calls you to have a new heart that seeks righteousness.  Do not resist the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit, You know the state of my heart.  You know where there is residual rebellion that shuts down my heart when the truth is spoken.  Guide me out of that so I willingly learn how to listen to the truth when it is spoken.  Let not the wicked one snatch anything You give away from me.  You have prepared the soil under my feet.  Grow in me the likeness of Christ my Savior that I may be on the journey to eternal life.

Lord Jesus, You have come in order that we who have no desire for Your word would receive it.  Help me to hear and heed the words of truth which You have spoken.  Guide me in all goodness and mercy to live the life You have set before me.  Help me now and always to abide in You as You abide in me.  Lead me in the way You know I need to go and let nothing You have given me be snatched away.  Amen.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.  For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:16-17).

Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.  This wicked generation is always looking for a sign.  Even if they are given one in the flesh, they want another one.  You have seen and heard.  Stop being disbelieving but believe that God’s salvation has been revealed to you.  Be guided by the words of eternal life and no longer reject what the Lord has given you.  Everything points to Jesus and He has introduced Himself to you.

Holy Spirit, too often my mind races in many different directions.  I will hear something I want to hear and no matter how false it is, I will believe it.  I will hear the truth and if I do not want to believe it, I won’t.  Strip me of the confusion and clear my soul so that I recognize truth and reject the lie.  Open my ears and eyes to live with the understanding that things truly are the way they are regardless of how I feel about the way things are.

Lord, help me to hear the truth You speak.  Open my ears to hear Your commands and then help me, Holy Spirit, to obey them.  In all I do, may I be guided by You, LORD, the One who knows the beginning from the end.  Let me not be hard-hearted, but pliable in Your hands.  Lead me on the narrow way of everlasting life.  Guide me always in Your goodness and mercy that Your will be done in me.  Amen.

“And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You shall keep on listening, but shall not understand; And you shall keep on looking, but shall not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their heart, and return, And I would heal them’” (Matthew 13:14-15).

Sometimes people are so into themselves that they can scarcely hear another talk.  The word of the Lord goes past their ears.  They will laugh and ridicule at what they do not know.  You and I have been there, and not listened to the word of the Lord.  The Lord will heal all who turn to Him.  Many will not.  The rebellion of this age is simple to understand.  You will either go your way, or you will go the Lord’s way.

Lord, clear my ears to hear and my eyes to see.  Let me take in the words of eternal life.  Bend my attention fully toward you and make of me what You will.  Let me not fall into old habit of just going through life but teach me how to live this life so that I may follow You into life eternal.  Through all that I experience and do, let me see Your saving and blessing hand at work on me.

Lord Jesus, heal me of all the infirmities that plague my soul.  Bring me understanding in order that I may always return to You and receive healing.  Guide me into the way of everlasting life and make me whole in You.  Lord, make my heart alive in You and take away all the dullness that is in me.  Let me know that I am found by You and I no longer need to go looking, but only ask, seek and knock.  Keep me close to You dear Savior.  Amen.

For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:12-13).

The one who walks in the salvation of the Lord will prosper and become a child of the Heavenly Father.  The one who does not have salvation, though he were to gain the whole world, will lose his own soul.  In part, Jesus tells us that the narcissists will be unable to see the simple truth of salvation because they cannot think of the Lord as greater than they think they are.  They only think that they understand themselves.

Lord, the myopic pride in me also distorts the truth.  You are the Lord of the universe.  Help me to see things plainly and walk the way You have set before me.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to learn humility, obey Your instructions, and live the life You have given me.  You know what is needed; guide me to have  ears that receives what You say.  Create in me what You intend.

Author and Finisher of my faith, lead me this day to live in Your righteousness.  Through all that will come in my life today, help me to see You and Your direction in all that I do.  Open my ears to hear and my eyes to see so I may walk in faithfulness.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to serve You and my neighbors through all that I do this day.  Lead me in the way You would have me go.  Amen. 

“And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”  And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted” (Matthew 13:10-11).

When You understand who our Lord is, what He has asked of you, and know the goal of your faith, you no longer need to be taught the elemental principles.  These parables translate to every time and place, giving the fundamental truth that we need to build our lives upon Jesus.  You first receive the Good News with many things that seem like riddles, but then you grow in understanding and these things are simply a part of what you know.

We all go through the same process of learning.  Rather than ask the Lord why He is doing something, learn to hear His instruction and obey what He is telling you to do.  The mystery of heaven is not complex.  God is God and He is to be loved, feared, and obeyed.  If we do, the rebellion of this age will pass away and we shall become what He is making of us.  This is why He said that we are to have no other gods before Him.

Holy Spirit, I often make things more complex than they need to be.  I ask questions rather than simply doing what I am being told to do.  Guide me so that I may bear the fruit You intend for me to bear.  Help me to tell Your stories so that those who have ears to hear and know Your voice will follow You.  You know all that is needed.  Help me to learn from You how to live my life here, now, and always.  Amen.

“Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.  But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.  The one who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:7-9).

The good soil is the Lord, His word, knowing and understanding that every circumstance will grow us in faith.  Do not focus upon how much is produced – that belongs to the Lord.  Focus upon remaining rooted in the Lord.  The cares of the world can choke you and take your eyes off the prize.  The parable is simple to understand, and you know what the Lord is saying, so heed the word of the Lord.

Lord, I do know what you are saying.  Your word is to be taken as the source of life.  If I am distracted, carried away by the world or worry about circumstances, I will wither and die.   If I am in You, I will grow and bear fruit.  Help me so that I heed these words of Yours and grow deeper in the truth You have revealed.  You have given me the words of eternal life.  Help me to live into that life.

Lord Jesus, apart from You I can do nothing.  Help me to live these words.  You will cause me to bear whatever fruit You will give me to bear.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to have a singular focus as I willingly walk the path You have set before me.  Take my eyes off myself and what I am doing so that I may focus upon You and listen for what You would have me do.  Guide me always my Savior.  Amen.

“Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil.  But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away” (Matthew 13:5-6).

Many will hear the word of the Lord, comprehend that here is truth, but not let the word sink in.  The word of the Lord must take root.  You are to become like Christ.  Jesus is not after fair-weather friends, but He has come to make of you a child of the Heavenly Father.  Life is not about how you feel, but about living life with the intention of becoming what the Lord is making of you.

Lord, when times are tough, I often fold up and wither.  I need the deep roots in You to sustain my life so that in times of drought I may not wither away.  You know this, but I need help to do my part so that I may be sustained in and by You through all that life will bring my way.  Lead me to have depth in this faith that You have given me so that my weariness may be refreshed with the truth of Your word.

Lord Jesus, Word made flesh, You have come that we may have true and abundant life.  Take me away from a Sunday religion that only makes me feel good, but does not prepare me for the times of heat which come in my life.  Lead me to grow deep roots in You through daily prayer, reading of Scripture, and meditating upon and inwardly digesting the words You have given me.  Guide me, Lord, so that I may abide in You now and forever.  Amen.

“And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up” (Matthew 13:3-4).

The seeds that the Lord gives us are all around us.  Many fall by the wayside.  Enamored with the earth’s beauty, we go about our business as if nothing mattered.  We live life in this physical world without much thought about the life to which we have been called by faith.  Do not let the things of this world overwhelm you such that you forget the One who created all things and who has called you to be with Him.

Lord, I do become distracted with the life I live in this world.  I am often overwhelmed both by what I am enjoying as well as what is distracting me.  You have created all things, and we may enjoy them, but You call for us –  for me – to worship You, the Creator, and not created things.  I am distracted by the good things of life and forget You, the One through whom all life has its being.

Lord Jesus, with simple and timeless words, You have given us words to live by.  Help me to be mindful lest Your word of life be taken from me.  Guide me to have Your word upon my heart and on my lips so that I may become more like You each day.  Lead me, O Lord, to walk the way You would have me walk, doing what You give me to do.  Guide me in Your goodness and grace.  Amen.

“On that day Jesus had gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea.  And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach” (Matthew 13:1-2).

Jesus is practical.  All things were created through Him, so of course He knows physics and how things work.  He’s in the boat and they are on the shore.  It’s a natural amphitheater.  Our Lord will use current situations and circumstances for His word to go forth.  Be a part of what the Lord is doing and know that You also may be called upon to be His voice speaking the words of truth.

Lord, You always seem so natural when You do things.  You just sit in a boat and start talking to thousands.  You and the Father are One and in that mystery, I think of myself as one in the crowd and would never be one to speak.  But You have given me the words of eternal life.  How can I stand by and watch as the multitudes go hungry for the lack of the eternal sustenance that You give?

Lord Jesus, You have called for me to follow You.  No matter where I am, or what I am doing, give me Your word to speak.  Holy Spirit, bring to remembrance everything I need to know so that I may speak Your words when needed.  In all things, Lord, grant that I would be faithful to use every situation and act in all circumstances to be faithful to the call of grace You have given me.  Lead me to be a child of the Heavenly Father.  Amen.