The Power of Life-Giving Water

August 27, 2025

The rudbeckia (black-eyed susans) jumped the garden’s protective stone border – that was its first mistake. Taking root on a sharp bend where it was at the mercy of the lawn mower, was its second mistake. With each pass, the whirling blades buffeted the plant. Eventually its strength gave out and the entire plant lay flat. The buds drooped. The leaves shriveled. The stalks faded to grey.

Loving flowers as I do, I thought what’s to lose if I try to revive the buds. I cut a few stems from the dead-looking plant and brought them into the house. After pulling off the crispy brown leaves, I put the stems in a small vase filled with water. The buds flopped like limp spaghetti. It was the saddest bouquet I had ever created. Still, I hoped for the best.

Every morning, I checked their progress. By the second day the stem of the largest flower had begun to straighten; by the next day it was standing upright. On the third day, beautiful, yellow petals began to unfurl. Days later the whole bouquet had revived.

Just as the flowers revived with life giving water, so too, no soul is beyond redemption. Who are you praying for right now? Maybe this person is like the prodigal son (Luke 15) who had a good life but left it to pursue cheap thrills. Or maybe, like the woman at the well (John 4) the person you are praying for has never experienced the healing power of God. Maybe that someone is you. Maybe you think there is no hope for revival. But don’t ever give up! Pray for that soul to seek and find the One Who gives living water that redeems and restores.

Just as physical water is essential for life, living water represents the spiritual life and salvation offered by Jesus. “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

In a recent Sunday message, our Pastor said, “Don’t let your past hold you back from where God wants to take you.” That sad-looking bouquet, revived by life-giving water, brightened my kitchen for over two weeks. If I had chosen to cut the disheveled stems and throw them away, all that potential beauty and blessing would have been lost.

Pray for the one who is on your mind and heart that they will come to Jesus, the Living Water, and that they will drink deeply from the well of love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration that never runs dry. – Judyann Grant