The earth will not yield its increase if there is no man to till the ground and no rain Gen 2:5b
What is tilling? it is a process of getting the soil ready for planting. It involves mixing organic matter into the soil and breaking up crusted soil.
To get the best out of the soil of our lives and that of our children, someone has to labour to prepare the soil, then God sends the rain, then we reap the harvest.
Tilling in a spiritual context means preparing our hearts to receive the rain of the Spirit.
How do we till our spiritual ground?
The most essential element is salvation which reconciles us with the father and provides the opportunity to develop a relationship with Him (Jn 3:16) by the help of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16)
1)Prepare the ground with required spiritual nutrients
a) Word: The word of God is food for our Spirit 1Pet 2:2. Take advantage of the numerous resources available online and offline to help us feed on the word e.g sermons, books.
Note: Nothing can replace personal study and meditation on the word alongside interaction with the Holy Spirit. You must schedule time for this day and night Josh 1:8
(the hyperlinks make reference to previous notes-‘what is in your mouth’ and ‘Holy Sprit and you Part 2’)
b)Prayer: Whenever you study the word, you will definitely know what to pray. Pray based on your understanding of the word to establish promises/ prophecies and receive grace to imbibe the principles you have learnt.
Prayer will also loosen the soil of your heart, shape your character, purge (cleanse) you and make you ready to receive the rain of God’s presence.
Remember the devil is looking for who to devour and sows tares when men sleep (1Pet 5:8; Matt 13:25). Prayer and the word will make your spiritual ground unsuitable for any seeds of the devil (such as bad character, infirmities, divorce, violence, alcoholism, indecent dressing) to germinate. This will only happen if you do what the word says by the help of the Holy Spirit.
Preparing your spiritual ground is an on-going process, but it is important that you have gotten this right before your children start arriving. If you haven’t or you are still inconsistent, now is the time to start working on the ground of your heart and do so consistently.
As you receive the rain of the Spirit and you are well nourished, you will not struggle to nurture the seeds (your offspring). If you are firmly rooted in the soil that has been well prepared (and is still being nourished continuously and consistently), your fruits will definitely be well nourished and grow as they should.
Next time, we will talk about how to help the fruits retain the nourishment. They must also learn by observation and be taught actively to till their own ground as they grow.
Reflection: Pls examine your spiritual soil. Is it lacking nutrients? Examine your children’s spiritual soil, is it well nourished?
Prayer: Father, we thank you for this word. We pray that you help us identify any spiritual nutrient that we are missing and help us to invest time into feeding on your word.
Raising Godly Children 