I always understood that in the Lord we were destined for increase, but it never dawned on me until recent years that we were destined for multiplication-not just addition. The Lord challenged me in prayer one day to expect multiplication in fruitfulness. The lowest level of multiplication is double. Image yourself doubled in fruitfulness right now. What does that look like to you?

In Genesis 1:28, the Lord blessed humankind and made the following command: "Be fruitful and multiply." You have the Word of the Lord over your life to be fruitful and to multiply in that fruitfulness. When you agree to come into this blessing, you are actually obeying God's commanded purpose for your life.

In Deuteronomy 1:11, Moses prayed for the people of Israel to increase a thousand times more than they were. I think "a thousand times" increase of God's goodness in life is a wonderful thought to ponder and embrace.

The Lord showed me some "keys to fruitfulness" which I share below: Abiding, Pruning, and Sowing and Reaping.

Abiding

Jesus taught us the keys for living in this level of blessing and multiplication-abiding, pruning, and sowing and reaping. Our fruitfulness comes through abiding in Him (see John 15:1-8). When we are born again, Christ's Spirit comes inside us and makes us a brand new creation. We also come inside of Him. We are "in Christ" when we are born again. He abides in us and we abide in Him.

You can experience and activate the abiding presence of Jesus by intentionally acknowledging Him in your devotion times. You empower what you focus on. If you focus on Christ's presence within, then you will empower His life in you. You cannot bear fruit on your own. Your fruitfulness as a branch comes from abiding in the vine. Jesus is the vine. His life flows into you like sap does in a tree or like blood does in the circulation system of the body. He is your life!

I like to take time in my devotions to acknowledge Jesus. I simply close my eyes and thank Him for all He is to me. I make decrees of truth like, "Jesus, I am in You. You are my life. You are my strength. You are my health and my vitality. You are my wisdom and my sanctification. You are my righteousness and my provision, etc."

After meditating on Christ's life within me for five minutes or so, I begin to feel the empowerment of His presence. I then enter into deeper fellowship with Him. I share my heart and my needs. I wait on Him and listen for Him to speak. I listen for Him to share His heart and desires. I make inquiry of Him and journal what I believe He is speaking to my heart.

Jesus promised in John 15:7 that if I abide in Him and His words (the words I receive in His presence) abide in me, then I can ask what I wish (according to what He has spoken) and it shall be done for me. This is how fruit is created. Fruitfulness and increase are birthed out of abiding in Christ.

Pruning

Increase also comes through pruning seasons in our life. Jesus said that every branch in Him that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit (see John 15:2). It is good to invite the Lord to prune us when needed in order to bear more fruit. Pruning often deals with alignments to His purposes for a particular season. He calls for fresh consecration, and sometimes downsizing and streamlining. We downsize and streamline not out of fear but in faith and obedience, knowing that the pruning does not decrease us in fruitfulness, but ultimately brings great increase and oftentimes invites us to engage in new assignments.

We had a tree in front of our ministry center that my husband, Ron, would prune once every year. I drove up to the center one day shocked to find that the tree had been pruned down to a mere stump with a few fully pruned branches sticking out of it. I was horrified and absolutely convinced that he had killed the tree. The tree was pathetic looking. It was over-pruned…or so I thought. Ron tried to convince me that it would be fine, but I struggled to believe his confident report. How could it possibly grow back when it had been pruned to a mere stump? Sure enough though, in a few months, the tree grew back in fullness. The foliage was rich and luscious-absolutely stunning-and many remarked on its beauty.

Sowing and Reaping

Another key to fruitfulness is found in the sowing and reaping law of the Kingdom. In Genesis 8:22, God makes a perpetual promise to humankind. He said, "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest…shall not cease." Well, the earth still remains. That means that there is a time to sow seed and a time to reap a corresponding harvest.

Jesus taught about sowing and reaping in Mark 4, and emphasized the type of soil you sow into. If you sow a seed into good and worthy ground, it will grow and multiply. The fruit is always more than the seed, and within the fruit are many more seeds. If you plant one bean seed, you will reap a bean plant that has many beans on it. You always reap more than you sow. If you then took one of the beans on that plant and sowed the seeds that were in it, you would reap many more bean plants the next season.

When you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly and when you sow bountifully, you reap bountifully (see 2 Corinthians 9:6). If you desire fruitfulness and multiplication to be activated in your life, you need to give the Lord something to work with. You need to sow seed according to what you desire to harvest. If you desire an increase of friends, then sow friendship. If you desire to increase in healing anointing, then go sow healing prayer and ministry into the sick. If you desire to reap a bountiful harvest of finances, then sow financial seed into good Kingdom soil.

Isaac sowed in a time of famine, and he reaped a hundredfold in that very year (see Genesis 26:12). No matter what is happening in the world around us, we can sow into the good ground of His faithful promises and reap abundantly. We do not live by the world's systems or ways. We live in the Kingdom.

The Multiplication Factor

If the Word says we are to multiply, then we will. We can appropriate every promise of the Lord by faith. If you want to multiply, then receive multiplication by faith. Expect multiplication. Your seed and your fruit will multiply.

Are your seed and fruit bad, good, or mixed? It is important to purge your life from anything that is not in line with God's Kingdom values. For example, if you were given over to the sin of gossip, you would want to pray for a crop failure and not multiplication. It is vital in these days to live with clean hands and a pure heart. Repent from all sin. Allow the conviction of the Spirit to minister deeply into your heart. Sow good, holy seeds and produce good, holy fruit.

You are called to be fruitful and multiply. This is the truth! You will not decrease in this hour. You will increase in every good thing if you sow holy seed and remain in faith. Stay focused!

A Word From the Heart of Jesus For You-
Be Fruitful and Multiply!

"This is both a sowing season and a reaping season for you. You will reap what you sowed in days gone by, and you will sow into the days to come. My promises are true and if you believe My word with unhindered faith and allow My word to be seeded in your heart, you will surely be fruitful and multiply. You will see the manifestation of My goodness and it will be much greater than anything you can imagine.

"Fill your heart and mind with My promises. Meditate on My promises day and night. Sow the Word of My promises through decrees made in faith. You will reap abundantly what you sow.

"You are called to fruitfulness in all things. When you abide in Me, you will experience fruitful life. You will not encounter dry seasons, for your roots are planted by rivers of living water. There is no such thing as a dry season in Heaven. There is no such thing as an unfruitful season in Heaven. Every month the trees bear their fruit in My glory realm. Even so, you will bear fruit continually as you abide in Me.

"Even as I prune your life, you will still bear fruit. I take My pruning shears to your branches and remove anything that would hinder continued growth. You will then experience accelerated fruitfulness in My goodness.

"Trust Me in all things right now. In the world there is tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. Many will suffer the loss of all things. But for you who trust Me with all your heart, even what might look like a loss will turn into unexpected blessing and increase.

"You will be fruitful in everything you put your hands to as you abide in Me. You will multiply in every good thing as you obey Me. You were created for this purpose. Be fruitful and multiply!"