For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations (Isaiah 61:11).
Our Father in heaven, in both the spiritual and the natural world, You are the God of growth, increase, and renewal. You spoke growth into creation with the power of Your word, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds” (Genesis 1:11).
And though human rebellion introduced thorns and thistles (Genesis 3:18) into Your perfect creation, You have set an appointed time to restore everything (Acts 3:21). In the meantime, Lord of grace, You have set Your unfailing cycles of replenishment and propagation in motion with Your promise: As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest... will never cease” (Genesis 8:22).
Father, just as surely as Your natural laws work in unfathomable ways to produce life and growth, Your spiritual laws are working to produce a harvest of righteousness (2 Corinthians 9:10): The Lord Jesus described for us the kingdom of God:
A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29).
Lord, we know You are concerned about the harvest. Matthew tells us that When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few" (Matthew 9:36-37).
O Lord of the harvest, as we look around at the plentiful harvest with few workers, give us the compassion of Jesus. In our world, we see many who are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. We see—among the other evidence of hopelessness and despair—mental anguish, addictions, self-harm, and suicide. We see the toll these take on loved ones. Have mercy, O God!
We pray as our Savior instructed us, "Send out workers into Your harvest field” (Matthew 9:38). Help us to sow love and grace, patience and kindness, forgiveness and mercy into the lives of others. Help us to sow unceasing tears and prayers into our families, our friends, our circles, our communities, our world.
The gospels and the apostles show us that the birth, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the righteousness and praise that You have caused to spring up before all nations (Luke 2:30-32). But we know there remains another fulfillment when the Lord Jesus will restore all things and reign and rule in righteousness (Isaiah 32:1).
O Lord, at the time when You restore and renew Your creation, when You make all things right, when You make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations, fulfill for us the promise You spoke over Your ancient people:
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them (Psalm 126: 5-6).
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