Book of Common Prayer
The first rule: prayer for the world
2 So, then, this is my very first command: God’s people should make petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings on behalf of all people— 2 on behalf of kings, and all who hold high office, so that we may lead a tranquil and peaceful life, in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good; it is acceptable with God our savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth. 5 For, you see,
There is one God,
and also one mediator between God and humans,
Messiah Jesus, himself a human being.
6 He gave himself as a ransom for all,
and this was testified when the time was right.
The parable of the sower explained
18 “All right, then,” Jesus continued, “this is what the sower story is all about. 19 When someone hears the word of the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This corresponds to what was sown beside the path. 20 What was sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with delight, 21 but doesn’t have any root of their own. Someone like that only lasts a short time; as soon as there’s any trouble or persecution because of the word, they trip up at once. 22 The one sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but the world’s worries and the seduction of wealth choke the word and it doesn’t bear fruit. 23 But the one sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. Someone like that will bear fruit: one will produce a hundred times over, another sixty, and another thirty times over.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.