Hello brothers and sisters and Heartdwellers family. Following up with the previous message just posted, the Lord gave us all instructions to plant and sow this year. From the book ‘The Power of a Praying Woman’, Ms. Stormie goes really in-depth about that, and paints a very practical and clear picture how we can all sow seeds of virtue and become the diligent farmers, who will reap a harvest of fruitfulness as Jesus mentioned.
I felt led that this chapter is so important and many of us, myself included, can glean from her words of wisdom, to become effective in sowing and planting this year to co-operate with what God is doing.
The Lord is asking us all to sow seeds of virtue, which will help us die to ourselves and bring Christ into every situation we find ourselves. So when you want to get angry, impatient, frustrated, irritated; where you want to give up on someone or something, or give someone a piece of your mind or rather shut your heart out from loving because you have been hurt so many times, the Lord is saying uh-uh – don’t respond in the flesh, but sow seeds of virtue. And she explains that very well in this chapter.
Planting is more of an action, as you began to sow seeds of virtue, it’s time to act by faith on what you heard. The inspirations and the gifts of the Lord, and use them. A person you have been praying for can also be your plant. Where you want to give up, leave, get frustrated or feel they are hopeless case –
rather sow seeds of love and virtue, and you make a commitment to plant yourself by their side no matter what. Asking the Lord, and believing that all that you sow in their lives will bare fruit by the later half of this year as Jesus said.
So let’s not get weary in well doing guys. May we all be given the grace to be good farmers in this season.
If you haven’t purchased this book I encourage all to buy one. And she has one for the ‘Power of a Praying Man’ as well, so that guys you don’t feel left out.
So the chapter begins:
Lord plant me, so I will bear the fruit of your spirit.
My dad was a farmer for most of his life. He knew how to plant and grow healthy crops. The main thing I learned from him is how to grow a garden of vegetables and fruit. We didn’t have the fancy tools people have today – just a shovel and a hoe. We didn’t even have running water or indoor plumbing, let alone a sprinkler system outside. We had to wait for the irrigation water to come through-out the land and then channel it to where the crops were, by digging little furrows for the water to travel on either side of the row of seeds. That it would water the roots without washing any seedlings or young plants away.
After we planted the seeds and watered them, we nurtured, fed and tended the soil around the seeds so they could grow without hindrance. We also tried to protect the young plants from elements such as hail, wind, and frost.
We made sure that when the fruit of vegetables were being formed they didn’t disconnect from the vine and that the vine didn’t disconnect from the roots. If we were careful, diligent, we produced a good crop. And it always made my father proud.
All of us are planting something in our lives every single day, whether we realize it or not. And we are also reaping whatever we have planted in the past. The quality of our lives right now is the result of what we planted and harvested some time before. We reap the good and the bad for years after we have sown. That’s why it is so important to plant and nurture the right seeds now.
Jesus said that He is the vine and you and I are the branches. If we abide in Him we will bear fruit (John 15:5). “Abide” means to remain, to stay, to dwell. In other words; if we dwell with Him and He dwells with us, we will bear the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). That’s what we want.
It is said that we begin to resemble the person with whom we live and with whom we are most closest associated. When we share our lives with Jesus, His likeness is stamped on our spirit and soul. When we plug into Him, the fruit of His Spirit is manifested in us.
So there’s nine Good ways to produce a Great Crop:
1. Plant seeds of love.
Ask God to plant His love in you in such a profound and powerful way that you are able to fully experience it. Ask also that His love will flow through you to others. Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My Love, just as I have kept My Fathers commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10). Ask God to help you obey all of His laws so that nothing will keep the fullness of His love from blossoming in You.
2. Plant seeds of joy.
Joy has nothing to do with your circumstances. You can have joy in spirit of difficulties, painful problems, because joy comes through a close, intimate relationship with the Lord. You can’t have joy if you feel separated from God or don’t trust His promises to you. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). When you live in the joy of the Lord, you have expectations that God is going to do something great in your life. Pray for the joy of the Lord to be so planted in you and manifested through you, that the crop you reap will spread like wildfire and overtake the fields around you.
3. Plant seeds of peace.
Pray that the presence of the Lord planted in your life will provide peace that is beyond comprehension. Pray that this peace will grow strong and prevail no matter what your circumstances are. “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. (Philippians 4:7). We can only have true peace if we live in right relationship to God. Pray that God will help you to know His peace in such a powerful way that it brings peace to those around you.
4. Plant seeds of patience.
Why do you think its important to God that patience be growing in us? It’s because God’s timing is not our timing. He is always doing more than we see or know, so we have to trust Him on how long He takes to bring things to pass. God perfects and refines us before He brings us into all He has for us, and that takes time. “Do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12).
“Let patience have its perfect work, that you many perfect and complete, lacking” (James 1:4). “By your patience posses your souls’ (Luke 21:19). Another word for patience is long suffering. And that says it all. When you suffer for a long
time, it means you put up with more than you want to. Pray for Gods’ patience to be so established in your soul, that nothing you have to put up with will uproot it.
5. Plant seeds of kindness.
You have a choice in what you plant in a garden. You take the seeds you want and put them in the soil, and God makes them grow. Kindness is something you have to deliberately plant. Or, to put it another way; kindness is something you choose to put on, like a garment. “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering” (Colossians 3:12). The ultimate act of kindness was when Jesus gave His life for us. Pray that His brand of kindness will grow in you so that you can lay down your life for others with acts of kindness too.
6. Plant seeds of goodness.
When the goodness of God is sown in your soul, it leads you to produce good deeds. “A good man out of the good treasury of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:35). “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18). Ask God to help you abide in Him so that His goodness will grow in you. As it grows in your heart, good things will automatically come forth from your life.
7. Plant seeds of faithfulness.
When we are solid, steadfast, dependable, reliable, loyal and trustworthy and do what is right no matter what, we exhibit faithfulness. “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10). Pray that His faithfulness will continue to grow strong in you every day that you are alive. Pray that your faithfulness will strengthen everyone you touch and inspire others to greater faithfulness too.
8. Plant seeds of gentleness.
When we are brash and arrogant, it makes people feel bad about us and bad about themselves. Gentleness is a humble meekness that is calm soothing and peaceful, and easy to be around. the Bible says “A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all” (2 Timothy 2:24). “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17) Being considerate of the feelings and needs of others by exhibiting gentleness is how you are responding to the Spirit of God, and what has been planted in you has taken root. Pray that you can be as gentle and meek as Jesus was (2 Corinthians 10:1)
9. Plant seeds of self control.
Self-control is not fragile like a strawberry plant; it’s big and solid like an apple tree. Only God can plant something of that magnitude in you and make it bear fruit. Having no self-control means you do whatever pleases you no matter what the consequences are. Pray that you will not be powerless against the forces that tug on your soul. “Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self control perseverance, to perseverance godliness” (2 Peter 1:5-6). Ask God to plant self-control in you that will grow up like a tree of strength. Ask Him to help you to rein in your passions, desires and emotions and make them subject to His Spirit. He will give you the self-discipline you need.
If you’ve not been bearing the fruit of the Spirit in your life the way you’d like, ask God to help you plant good seeds and pull up any weeds that may have grown up around your soul. Feed the soil of your heart with the food of God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to water it afresh every day. As long as you abide faithfully in the true vine, I guarantee you’ll produce a crop of spiritual fruit that will make your Heavenly Father proud.
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