Tuesday, August 14, 2012

How Big Is Your Flower Pot?

Earlier this summer, I was about to purchase a small plastic package of fresh basil leaves at the grocery store, just enough for the recipe I was making.  But by the front door of the store, I saw healthy vibrant basil plants greeting the shoppers, at about the same price as the teeny little pre-picked package.  Always with an eye for a better deal and somehow ignoring the fact that plants do not survive under my care, I opted for the plant.

I placed the tiny pot on a table on my screen porch where it could get some sun.  The next day, it appeared to have died.  I watered it thoroughly, and the small plant revived again.  An out-of-town friend arrived the following evening for a visit.  She noticed the plant.  “Oh, we planted a small basil plant in our garden one year, and it turned into a bush,” she said.  “It will grow as large as the container it is in.” 

I replanted it into the largest planter that I could find in our garage.  And in a week’s time, it doubled in size.  Throughout the summer, I have pinched off leaves for recipes and salads.  The more I pick, the larger it grows.

During this same season, I have become more and more conscious about how I pray and for what I pray.   How outrageously am I praying?  Do all of my prayers fit inside an eight-ounce paper cup like that tiny plant I purchased at the store?

Cute little reasonable prayers without any substance,

prayers for mere survival

    or those planted in the biggest container I can conceive?

What is the wildest thing I can pray?

            God is bigger yet.

                    

The prayer of the righteous

has great power in its effects.

                            James 5.16

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