I said I'd write more bout how prayer and gardening are similar.
There is a point in the gardening process where you think that all of your efforts are wasted. You've tilled and fertilized the soil, planted the seed and watered it all in. And you've waited. And waited. And nothing happens. You go out expectantly and there is nothing to show for you work but a nice clear garden spot. Prayer is like that sometimes also. We get into the Word and prepare our hearts and minds for communing with God in prayer and then we wait. And wait. And the silence is deafening.
And just when you think that gardening is a waste of time, you see the fruits of your labor (pun intended 
). The plants grow and the harvest comes in. This year our first harvest was just three squash. Then we picked enough squash for Kathy to make several casseroles to freeze and still have some left over! Prayer is like that for me. Just when I'm ready to give up, the blessings come, slowly at times and like a flood at others.
And we have evidence that our garden will provide more that we have already received. I think prayer is like that – we have evidence (God's Word) that we will be provided with more that we have already received. There's a relationship that one builds with the earth and the seed when gardening. There's a much more important relationship that one builds with the Creator of earth and seed when one prays.
Be well,
Steve
I live and serve in a rural area. Actually, it's pretty good since I don't have to deal with Atlanta traffic and I'm halfway between Atlanta and Greenville, SC. Kathy and I love it here. One of the things we love is that we have a vegetable garden. Last year we had the largest garden, we've ever had. This year we doubled it. Mind you, the house sits on less than an acre of land and the garden is a small area in the back corner of the yard, so it's not big by any means but it is our garden.
One of my regular half-joking statements is "There's a sermon in that somewhere". Well, after we planted this year's garden last weekend, I posted on Facebook and tweeted on Twitter about it and made the comment, "There's a sermon in that somewhere". Several people, including my dad, made reference to the parable of the sower and the seed (Matthew 13). What I actually had in mind was Paul's writing to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3) in regards to the divisions and jealousy in the church. And I'll probably develop a sermon out of that but right now, I'm thinking about the similarity between prayer and gardening. Here's my initial take on this. I hope to add more later.
Gardening takes work – you prepare the soil, you get and plant seed, you expect a harvest. Prayer takes work – you prepare your heart, you get and plant seed – in the form of faith and your prayer, and you expect a "harvest". I asked the question in church recently, "When you pray, what do you expect?". If we don't expect anything – then why bother?
You don't plant a garden and then just ignore it. You SHOULDN'T just pray a prayer and then ignore it either.
Gardening is sometimes a group effort. We needed help from a church member to get the ground tilled, we got some composted manure from another, the plants and seeds were bought at different places, and advice and wisdom came from multiple sources: my dad, Mr. Maddox at the seed store, etc. Prayer is sometimes a group effort: we enlist the help of our friends and family to join us in praying for situations, we gather for events like the National Day of Prayer later this week, and we get advice and wisdom from saints (and sinners) who have gone before us.
If you ask several people, you'll probably get several answers about when and how to plant. If you ask several people, you'll probably get several answers about when and how to pray. It's not the content or style of our prayer that really matters, it's the One to whom we pray.
In gardening, after all is said in done, you are dependent on something other than yourself on getting results. In praying, the same thing is true.
And I think I'll end for now with one more similarity – in gardening or praying, you end up on your knees a lot 
.
Be well,
Steve
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