Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

In the world around us and light of this parable of the soils and the seed, but I want to point out a couple of things in particular and lead us to pray accordingly.

First, this picture of seeds sewn among thorns representing people who hear the Word but listen to what chokes out the Word.

The cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things.

There's so much there as we think about sharing the gospel with people around us and an adversary who wants to use the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things to keep the Word from taking root in people's hearts.

But not just in people's hearts who we're sharing the gospel with, let's beware of the adversaries' attempts to use those same things to choke out the Word in our own hearts and our own lives, the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things.

When we are focused on these things, when these things are captivating our minds and our hearts, maybe even in ways we don't realize they are choking out God's Word in us.

So let's examine our hearts and truly ask how I'm eye-ledging the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches or the desires for other things, choke out God's Word in my own mind and heart and life in ways that God's Word is not bearing the fruit that is designed to bear.

And then the contrast in verse 20, those that were shown on the Good Soul, the ones who hear the Word and accept it and bear fruit.

There it is, three steps, here God's Word, accept it, believe it, let it soak into your heart and life, let it get past the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the desires for other things, let his Word saturate your heart and then bear fruit through you.

And bear fruit in others' lives as we share the gospel. Oh, let's pray. Mark 4, 18 to 20, God, we love your Word, we love this picture of the power of your Word to enter into hearts and bear fruit that's a hundredfold.

God, we want that in our lives, we want your Word to bear fruit in our lives through our lives.

God, give us boldness, we pray to share the gospel today, to share your Word with others in ways that bear fruit in others' lives. God, we pray that you would use us to lead people to Jesus through your Word.

God, that you would remove the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things in others' lives that they might hear the Word and accept it and bear fruit.

And God, we pray for that in our own lives, guard us today from being consumed with the cares of this world, being deceived by money and riches and things in this world.

God, we pray that you would keep us from desiring the things of this world in ways that choke out your Word.

God, we want, as we were praying in March 3, soft hearts when it comes to your Word, when it comes to your Word, we want good soil in our hearts that hear your Word and accept it and bear fruit.

God, may it be so in our lives and the lives of people around us and God, we pray this over the ziri people of Azerbaijan who are spread out all around the world.

Ziri Muslims, God, we pray for the millions of them that you would show the power of your Word to bring many a ziri's to salvation. God, we pray for all those who are working among a ziri's, including the small number of a ziri brothers and sisters, God, we pray that you empower them and that they would be great fruit born for your glory among a ziri people around the world.

God, we praise you for the fruit that comes from your Word and we pray for it in our lives, we pray for it in the lives of people around us and God, we pray for it in the lives of a ziri's around the world.

In Jesus' name, we pray according to Mark chapter 4. Amen.