Praying For Fruitfulness

Praying for Fruitfulness

They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Psalm 1:3

WE WERE CREATED FOR FRUITFULNESS. From the first command to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28) to the picture of Jesus as a vine that fills his branches with fruit (John 15:1-8), the Bible is clear that we are designed to mature and bear fruit in God’s Kingdom. Jesus told parables of seeds and harvests (Matthew 13:3-23) and sent his followers out on the same mission the Father had given him (John 20:21). We were never called simply to make a living. We are called to bloom and grow.

Our concern is that we go through seasons of apparent fruitlessness. Bearing fruit “in season” implies not bearing fruit out of season. That can feel like a spiritual crisis, and sometimes we wonder if God has left us by the wayside or even uprooted us and moved on. After all, if we are created to bear fruit and aren’t seeing any, isn’t there a problem? Aren’t we missing out on our original design? Has God decided he has no use for us?

Of course not. We have to understand the seasons of life. It’s perfectly normal to go through times of preparation and then periodic journeys through the wilderness along our way. The key to Christian maturity is not insisting on constant fruitfulness but recognizing seasonal cycles. We have to learn to take advantage of unfruitful seasons to grow deeper roots and then take advantage of fruitful seasons to maximize the harvest. Both are necessary for a healthy spiritual life.

As you pray for God to do great and wonderful things in your life, don’t get hung up on timing. Allow him to work for you, in you, and through you on his schedule. Cooperate with him, but don’t force the issue. Just believe. His promises of fruitfulness are frequent and reassuring. He calls us not to manufacture results but to be patient and faithful to our calling. There’s a time to sow and a time to reap and even a time to wonder what’s going on. That’s normal. Continue in faith, pray for abundance, and trust God with his timing. The seeds of faith will mature, and the harvest will be beautiful when it comes.

It is said that in some countries, trees will grow but will bear no fruit because there is no winter there.