October 18, 2022 - Matthew 21:18-19

“In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.” Matthew 21:18-19 NLT

Jesus, you cursed this tree because of its lack of fruitfulness. We don’t want you to curse our lives because we are not multiplying like we are designed to do. You created living things to multiply. You created us to multiply, not just in the sense of having offspring, but in every area of our lives. We can see this concept in many places throughout the Bible. You give us “seeds” that you want us to “plant” and nurture so that they grow and multiply. These seeds come in the form of giftings, talents, anointing, ideas, callings, and resources/possessions. Lord, teach us how to grow our seeds into something that bears fruit and multiplies. We know that bearing fruit and multiplying does not happen by accident. We must work at bearing fruit. Help us to live purposefully towards seeing multiplication in our lives.

Lord, I was recently challenged by someone who was speaking on seeds. They said, “The seed and the soil can both be perfect to grow what you want to grow, but if the climate isn’t right certain things won’t grow.” Lord, help us create the right climate to see the things you placed in our lives grow. Open our eyes to the ways we create the right climate in our lives for growth. Do we live in a state of worship? Do we know our Bible and live out its principles? Do we live our lives through our relationship with you in a way that we bring your presence with us into every place we go? Help us align the things in our lives that need to be aligned so that we, with you, can create the right climate in our lives. Help us be fruitful and multiply.

In Jesus name, amen.