IN THE GARDEN

When I was a little girl, I loved helping my grandmother plant her garden. I remember holding up my cupped hands, eager to receive whatever seeds she offered. She knew exactly what needed to be planted where, and she’d give me just enough for one little hole.

I think of my morning quiet times as my moments in the garden with God. I envision God holding His bag filled with every type of spiritual seed, ready to dispense each, one at a time, at just the right moment. When I come to the garden, as the old hymn says, “He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am his own.”

Jesus also withdrew to a garden. While He spent considerable time every day in prayer, His most desperate pleas came in the Garden of Gethsemane just before He was crucified. Jesus’ garden-spot prayer empowered Him to do the unthinkable—to offer Himself on a wooden cross unto death.

The time Jesus spent in that garden, made the time we spend in ours possible. When we face the impossible, His endless supply is there for the taking. Need a little courage? It’s there in the garden. Desire wisdom? He’s got that, too. Lack strength? He’s all-powerful and waiting to give it in the garden. Whatever the need, God has the seed.

The next time you kneel in prayer, envision Jesus kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane. When He stopped in the garden, He stooped there for you and me. Today, He invites us to join Him there … with cupped, open hands … in the garden.

In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.
Psalm 5:3