When You Speak the Word in Faith You Plant a Seed

Luke 8:5, 11 (NKJV)
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed… 11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God.

Most believers are familiar with the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8). The emphasis in this parable is usually placed on the soil onto which the seed fell. But if you shift the focus from the different types of soil discussed in the parable what is left is another spiritual truth of great importance… The seed is the Word of God.

What is “seed”? One dictionary definition says, “to furnish with something that causes or stimulates growth or development.” Other definitions include such words as, “fertilized, reproduction, conservation, maturity”. When those terms are attached to the Word of God, it is possible to get a deeper revelation of the importance of keeping our focus on the Word as seed:

• The Word of God “causes or stimulates growth or development”. God’s Word causes us to grow and develop in our relationship with the Lord. (Romans 12:2) No matter what the situation, when the Word of God is applied, the result will be growth or development of the desired result.
• The Word of God carries the power within itself to “reproduce” itself. A healing scripture is seed that will reproduce healing in the one who believes for it. (Isaiah 53:5) A prosperity scripture will reproduce increase. (Psalm 119:14,15)
• The Word of God will “conserve” or keep a spiritual truth which is already at work in a believer’s life; i.e. safety and protection (Psalm 91).

One word which is not mentioned in a dictionary definition of seed, but is mentioned when to referring to the Word of God is “incorruptible”. The dictionary definition says incorruptible means “not subject to decay”. The Complete Jewish Bible paints a very clear picture of the Word as seed: 1 Peter 1:23 states, “You have been born again not from some seed that will decay, but from one that cannot decay, through the living Word of God that lasts forever”. Not only will the Word of God not decay, but it is “living” which means life-giving. And, what kind of life does it give? The God-kind of life – full of health, soundness of mind, and prosperity in every area of life!

When a believer focuses on the Word of God as life-giving seed, having faith becomes much easier. It is the Word that is doing the work to change the situation, not the one doing the speaking. Once we have chosen a scripture to stand on and have declared it concerning our situation, we, from that point on, begin to thank God daily that the seed is in the ground growing. Every time we declare the Word is at work in our situation, it is like watering a seed that has been planted in the ground – it is giving that seed the nourishment it needs to grow. Our praising/thanking God for the harvest of the seed planted is what is needed for the seed to develop to maturity.

Finally, there is another important aspect to the Word being recognized as seed. That is, seed takes time to grow. While we would all like to see instantaneous results to our prayers, more times than not it does not happen in that way. In Genesis 8:22a God established the principle of “seedtime and harvest”; 22 As long as the world exists, there will be a time for planting and a time for harvest…” (GNT) Stated another way, “seed + time = harvest.” It’s really quite simple (although not always easy). The Word has an answer for any situation we could possibly face. It comes in the form of a seed. All God asks of us is to plant it and keep it watered through praise and thanksgiving until the harvest comes. 

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