Heart Condition

I remember one prayer that my leader from Brisbane prayed over me in Feb 2002 - that my heart will always be soft to receive His Word.

I was walking to work one day and I saw that along the pavement that I was walking, there was a patch of grass that had very beautiful small flowers but anywhere else around it are bare. Somehow, the parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-8) came to mind. It speak about the growth of the seeds that fall unto different grounds - pathside soil, rocky ground, thorny soil and good soil.

The pathside soil is where it's often trampled upon. And when that happen, the soil are usually hard and it's hard to plant seeds. So, let's say, if my heart is hard, no seeds are able to be grown out of it!

Rocky ground is where there's soil but there's lots of underlying rocks. Though the seed will grow, the roots will not go deep thus it won't survive for long. Is my heart shallow? Can the Word of God go deep to me?

Thorny soil. Well, I can't imagine if any seed were to be planted next to lots of thorns and weeds. If I were the seed, I will be choked. Is my heart then cluttered with the cares of the world?

Well, no need to explain further, when a seed is planted on good soil with the right temperature, right condition, right weather, etc, the seed will be fruitful. Is the condition of my heart good?

What IS the condition of my heart?
When I hear the word of God, what is the condition of my heart that receives that word? What then can the seeds grow into? Seeds of fruitfulness. Fruits of joy, peace, love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Man..! Don't I want these fruits.. So many times, I find myself saying "Gosh!! I need MORE patience!!!" or "Ok! I need to be more kind and show grace and mercy!".

I pray that I might have a heart that is always soft to His word. That I may have ears that will be tuned to Him all the time.

Yup.. I will always remember that prayer that was made for me.