Sue's Prayer Reflections: March

Spring – the time for sowing and planting – and it’s nearly here!

The Bible contains many references to plants. Jesus described himself as the vine; Hosea wrote about ploughing the soil prior to planting. In Psalm 1 we read, “He (a man who follows God), is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.”

Perhaps as you choose and sow your seeds, in the place you have prepared, and water them and watch them grow, until you can harvest the crop, or enjoy the flowers, you may consider your spiritual life, and include the thoughts in your prayer time. 

• How have you prepared yourself to receive God’s word? 
• What choices have you made? 
• What could you do to nurture God’s life within you? 

At the same time, we need to remember and pray for those who struggle with these matters, and, on a much more practical note, to pray for farmers everywhere as they work to produce food: this is a Coptic prayer from Egypt printed in the Christian Aid Prayer Diary:

Bless, O Lord, the plants, the vegetation and the herbs of the field,
that they may grow and increase to fullness and bear much fruit.
And may the fruit of the land remind us of the spiritual fruit we are to bear.
Amen