Pray- May 18, 2020
Scripture: Matthew 13:1-3
Prayer is not just just saying words, we can also pray with actions. You are invited to pray the Parable of the Sower - Stations of the Heart by Jenifer Gamber from Skiturgies published by Church Publishing Inc. The stations are adapted for home use with the permission of Jenifer Gamber.
These stations invite participants to engage with the Parable of the Sower with their hearts. Set up the stations at a table in a quiet room with low lighting. An optional addition is to place seeds in a dish at the first station and sow a few seeds in each box as they move to each station.
You will need the following items:
- Four boxes with lids (if possible, like shoe boxes)
- Basket
- Paper (postcard-sized slips of paper, one for each participant)
- Pencils (one for each participant)
- Potting soil
- Rocks
- Sand
- Table - You can spread these stations through your home or use one table
- Tablecloth
- Thorns
- Optional: seeds such as grass or flower seeds
Beginning Reading: Matthew 13:1-9
First Box Station:
- Read - Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
- This box is filled with sand and the following question is affixed inside the lid: What snatches God’s mysteries from you before they have broken open with the promise of new life?
- Pray - Loving God, be with me on my journey and let the seeds of faith take root and not be snatched away. Amen.
Second Box Station:
- Read - Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.
- This box is filled with rocks and has the following question affixed inside the lid: What rocks keep God’s blessings from rooting themselves in your life?
- Pray - Loving God, help me to clear the rocks in my life that prevent your seeds of faith from taking root and growing. Amen.
Third Box Station:
- Read - Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
- This box is filled with thorns and has the following question affixed inside the lid: When has God’s word begun to grow only to be choked by thorns? What thorns threaten new life for you today?
- Pray - Loving God, protect me on my journey and may your seeds of faith take root and not be choked and wither away. Amen.
Fourth Box Station:
- Read - Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.
- This box is filled with thorns and has the following question affixed inside the lid: One seed of wheat can produce 100 seeds. What seeds of mystery have yielded more than you could have imagined? How might you share this harvest?
- Pray - Loving God, thank you for the seeds of faith that grow within me, help me to share my faith with others and sow seeds of faith on my journey in your holy name. Amen.
Ending Reflection:
- The sower throws seeds on all manner of soils. What abundance is God casting onto you today? How are you, or might you, tend the soil of your heart so that God becomes ever more rooted? What new growth has begun to stir in your life?
- Pray - Loving God, I give you thanks and praise for tending the soil of my heart so my faith grows, as I love my neighbor as myself and strive for justice and peace, respecting the dignity of every human being. Amen.
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