Mark 4:26-27

Then Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground. Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows.” [NCV]

This is one of the most comforting and empowering of passages to me. My responsibility is to give the word of God, to give truth. I do not and cannot make it grow in someone’s heart. That is God’s part.

This hearkens back to the “bearing fruit” picture used in Scripture. I believe all of God’s creation speaks of Him, not in a spiritual sense only, but also in a literal and physical sense. The more we study the physical characteristics of creation, the more we can get to know its Creator. So bearing fruit then is not force-feeding, for a tree does not throw its apples in someone’s mouth. It bears them. It produces them from its root system via drinking water from a source that is provided by a greater Source.

And I do believe our prayers are part of that God-designed process of fruit bearing. In another passage, it seems to indicate that we can till the soil and put manure in it to make it more conducive for growth. Perhaps that is speaking simply of prayer.

Nonetheless, I do not make the seed grow in someone’s heart. God does that. I just do my portion.

Takes some unnecessary pressure off, does it not?

Proverbs 2:1-6

While wisdom is readily available to all, the active words such as “accept,” “store up,” “call out,” “search for” make it clear that the disciple must be focused and diligent in the quest for it.

The search for wisdom begins with an attitude of reverent submission to God (“the fear of the LORD”). It continues with the disciple’s persistence and diligence, and it actually leads to the knowledge of God. This outcome is assured because God reveals Himself to those who diligently seek Him.

-from The Apologetics Study Bible