When I was a child, I spoke about childish matters, for I saw things like a child and reasoned like a child. But the day came when I matured, and I set aside my childish ways. 1 Corinthians 13:11 (The Passion Translation)

I was raised as a strict Roman Catholic. We attended mass without fail every Sunday, and each Sunday, we would hear three passages from the Bible, one from the Old Testament, one from the Epistles, and one from the Gospels. For most of my childhood, I would sit and squirm through these readings, barely remembering what had been spoken by the time we got home. But one Sunday, the sermon stuck with me and produced a real reaction in me.  

Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees for being more concerned with cleaning the outside of the cup and cautioned them to clean the inside first.  (Matthew 23:25-26) I couldn’t get that out of my head, so the next time I stood at the sink washing the dishes, I carefully cleaned the inside of every pot before I washed the outside. I was scared I would sin by doing it the other way around!

I had heard the message but didn’t understand it. As I grew older, I learned what Jesus really meant—that this was not to be taken literally but figuratively—but I had no experience of what it looked like to be cleansed from the inside out. As a teenager and then as a young adult, I became far more interested in pleasing my peers than living out what I now understood. It wasn’t until I gave my heart to Jesus at the age of twenty-four that I allowed the truth to transform me inwardly.

In Matthew 13 (verses 3-9; 18-23), Jesus tells the crowd the parable of the sower and the seed, which He later explains to the disciples. The four areas on the ground where the seed fell represent four kinds of hearers:

• The wayside represents the one who hears the Word but doesn’t understand it.
• The rocky ground represents the one who hears but is not rooted and grounded enough for the Word to take hold.
• The thorns represent the one who hears but cares more about the things of the world.
• The good ground, the rich soil, represents the one who both hears and understands and can bear fruit.

These four levels of hearing are very much like the typical stages of human development:

• Young children are great listeners but bad interpreters: they hear but don’t understand the meaning of what has been said.
• Adolescents have had little experience of life: they may hear but have no point of reference to bring understanding.
• Teenagers are preoccupied with the cares of this world, especially peer pressure: they may hear but can’t take the chance of applying what they hear for fear of being uncool.
• Adults are both experienced and knowledgeable: they can hear, understand and apply what they’ve heard.

The parable of the sower and the seed is a call to spiritual maturity. As Christians, it is our job to consider what kind of ground we represent, and to know where we fall on the spectrum.

• Are we young children? We need to be people of understanding. Proverbs 1:5
• Are we adolescents? We need to be rooted and grounded. Ephesians 3:17
• Are we teenagers? We need to seek first the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33
• Are we adults? We need to be mature. Hebrews 5:14

What does it mean to be “good ground?”

Good ground is spiritual and emotional maturity, being able to hear, receive and allow the Word to grow in our hearts. Here is how the writer of Hebrews describes the mature:

[Those] whose spiritual senses perceive heavenly matters. And they have been adequately trained by what they’ve experienced to emerge with understanding of the difference between what is truly excellent and what is evil and harmful. (The Passion Translation)

Good ground is soil that has been prepared. It’s about:

• Those who have set their hearts on the path to truly hear and receive God’s Word.
• Those who have removed the rocks and hardness of heart that have kept the Word from taking root.
• Those who have removed the thorns, who have surrendered the cares of this world to the Lord.
• Those who are fully ready to receive the Word and who are diligent to apply its principles to their lives.

So, how can we become “good ground?”

I believe that spiritual disciplines are designed to help us develop “good ground,” which keeps us from being root-less, and causes us to bear much fruit. It’s our job to make sure that we are tending to the soil of our heart.

The Passion Translation: Hebrews 5:12-14 says:

For you should already be professors instructing others by now; but instead, you need to be taught from the beginning the basics of God’s prophetic oracles! You’re like children still needing milk and not yet ready to digest solid food. For every spiritual infant who lives on milk is not yet pierced by the revelation of righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, whose spiritual senses perceive heavenly matters. And they have been adequately trained by what they’ve experienced to emerge with understanding of the difference between what is truly excellent and what is evil and harmful.

Finding and embracing spiritual disciplines that work for you are a means to maturing and being able to digest the meat of the Word.

There are so many great books about spiritual disciplines. One that I can recommend is the Disciplines of the Holy Spirit by Siang-Yang Tan.

However, I would also ask you to consider prayer counseling as an important spiritual discipline to add to your life.

Becoming good ground is all about cooperating with the Divine Gardener as He prepares the soil of our heart to be implanted with the Word that bears much fruit, that is, the fruit of the spirit. Prayer counseling assists in that process.

One particular model of prayer counseling, Communion with God’s Prayers that Heal the 

Heart, outlines some practical steps:

• Getting on the path: giving our heart to the Lord
• Removing the rocks: breaking generational sins and curses, breaking ungodly soul ties, forgiving our offenders
• Removing the thorns: renouncing negative expectations and inner vows, breaking word curses, receiving healing for traumatic memories, deliverance

This is just one model of healing prayer that tills the soil of your heart. If you would like to know more about how prayer counseling helps you grow spiritually and become fertile ground for God’s Word to take root, you can read my book Prayer Counseling: Ministry to the Heart. 

My prayer for you is that you grow in wisdom and discernment as you allow the richness of the Word to grow deeply in your heart.