Meet Maranta leuconeura:
It’s more commonly known as a Prayer Plant. Mine is a bit on the peaky side, but honestly, I cut the entire plant down a week or so ago. Surprisingly, it’s back to growing once again.
This isn’t the first time I’ve thought this plant was dead and was surprised when it came back to life once the dead leaves were cut off. I’ve written this plant off several times and yet it continues to grow.
My research shows that what I should be doing is giving this plant more water. It’s a jungle plant and prefers more moisture than what I’ve been giving it. Springtime is coming, so I plan to re-pot it in fresh soil and try to water it more regularly.
The common name of the plant is why I chose it to be the theme of my post today. The Prayer Plant. It’s called that because in the evening, the leaves fold together and look a little like praying hands folded together. It got me thinking about parallels to my prayer life.
Sometimes, I pray a lot and heavily rely on prayer. In those times, I “water” my spiritual life (like a plant) and it grows. More often, I neglect prayer and my spiritual life dries up. While I don’t start my spiritual walk again from “scratch,” but I do have to prune off what is dead and no longer serving me in order to start seeing growth again.
This is easier said than done. Until what is no longer serving becomes obviously dead, it’s not always easy to see. Sometimes I think throwing some extra water on leaves that are half brown and half green might bring it back to life. Often that’s not the case. It’s also nerve-wracking sometimes to take my scissors and just snip off the dead pieces. I fear injuring the plant and causing more problems in the long run.
The truth of the matter is the pruning is healthy for a plant –and for us. Jesus says this in John 15: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (NIV). Pruning isn’t fun. The cutting and removing can be painful, but in the end, keeping dead things in your life will only slow down your growth.
Prayer is the key to examining those dead things and asking God for help to remove them. It won’t be easy, but we have access to the Gardener, who cares for the branches with tenderness and compassion. His ear is ever listening, ready to hear our prayers and set His responses in motion. He is on our side and working for our good–and He really wants to see us alive and growing.
If you’re wondering, I wrote this for me as much as for anyone else in a similar boat… or rather, pot. It’s easy to look at someone else and see what needs work in their life. Not so much ourselves. But only we can make the choice to pursue pruning and prayer, and both are regularly needed for our growth.
Let’s decide today to take better care of our spiritual plants…and maybe our houseplants too! Don’t fear the pruning, but lean into it and find your way forward into a better season of growth.
Blessings,
~Lynne
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