A prayer based on Mark 4:1-20.

<aside> 🙏🏻 Almighty God, Powerful Saviour, We praise You. We give You our thanks that salvation from sin and death and hell is possible. It is possible because Jesus, the Good and Great Shepherd, has laid down His life on the cross. He was the perfect sacrifice that we needed to bring us to You and into Your family. What a joy it is to know Your forgiveness. How incredible it is that we have been adopted as Your children through faith in Him. And it is wonderful to know that others can enjoy this glorious rescue too as the gospel goes out, calling sinners to repent and believe the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

We thank You that all kinds of people, Religious and irreligious; young and old; rich and poor; male and female; sick and healthy; Jew and Gentile; family and friends or strangers and enemies; when they respond to the Word can be welcomed into Your kingdom.

But Lord, it does grieve us, that so many don’t respond. As Your Word is sown, large numbers are found to have hard hearts – Unbelieving hearts that refuse to trust in Jesus; Rebellious hearts that refuse to submit to His rule; and who won’t act on what they hear.

More so, it saddens us that many appear to be converted – to be genuine followers of Christ, but over time show that their understanding of what it means to believe in Jesus was shallow, that they are not willing to take up their cross and suffer for the sake of Christ, or they are too attached to the world, and they eventually fall away and give up the faith it looked like they had.

How we wish that so much of the precious seed that Your Word is didn’t fall on the path, or rocky ground, or among the thorns. We are so concerned for those we know who don’t believe in Jesus or those who have not continued with Jesus. We are worried for their future if they remain in their sins.

Father, we know that hearing and understanding is gift from You. It is outside of their abilities. So, we pray that You would show them Your mercy. Show them Your grace. Give them ears to hear. To listen carefully and thoughtfully to the Word of God. Change their hearts by Your Spirit into good soil that receives the gospel and finds the forgiveness that Jesus offers.

And we pray that our hearts will continue to be good soil, that every time we listen to Your Word, we would truly hear. May the devil not snatch it from us. May we fight to listen – making every effort to concentrate and hear what You are saying to us. Protect us from distractions. How we need to hear the voice of our Saviour. And as we do, may our lives be more fruitful and be found to worthy of the calling we have received and bring You glory.

Amen.

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