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Adapted from a message shared in my church community, part of a series called “Roots before Fruits.”

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Last week, we talked about being faithful in the small things — about roots growing quietly and slowly beneath the surface.

This week, I’ve been thinking about one of those small things, and what those roots are actually reaching for.

The small thing is prayer — our talking with God that stretches down like roots into the soil, reaching, reaching.

And here’s the beautiful truth: what our roots are reaching for is love — the love of God that fills us when no one’s watching.

Because if we think of a plant, the roots aren’t just muscling their way through dirt for no reason. They stretch toward water. That’s the whole point.

And the practice of prayer — the time we spend with God when no one else is around — that’s our roots stretching toward the Living Water.

Have you ever seen an uprooted tree? It’s incredible how a tree that doesn’t look all that big can have roots that tower like a sculpture, leaving a crater behind. Those roots went deep — not just to keep the tree upright, but to find water.

Every living thing needs water. Roots don’t keep the plant alive by trying harder; they grow strong because they’re drinking deeply.

The “water” for our souls — what seeps in through prayer and keeps us steady — is God’s love.

When we stop trying to earn that love and start receiving it, our roots grow deeper. Our hearts become steadier.

Paul prayed this very thing in Ephesians 3:

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Our roots grow strong when they rest in love — not when we strive harder, but when we stay close to the Source.

The secret to growth — the kind that lasts — isn’t striving. It’s staying. It’s abiding.

Think for a moment: where do you feel calm and safe?

That’s often the place where God wants to meet you.

That quiet, safe place — that’s what Jesus called the secret place.