「你們細想野地裡的百合花，怎樣生長」－馬太福音6:28
不久他又禱告：「神啊！我的小樹需要充足的陽光，求你讓日頭放明吧！」神也聽了他的禱告，綻放久為露面的日光。
過了一段時間，他又禱告：「神啊，現在橄欖樹需要霜的呵護，使它組織健全。」於是一層薄霜立即將樹裹覆。但是到了傍晚，它卻枯死了。
修道士回到了僧院，詢問另一個修道士，告訴他這個奇異的經歷。
這名修道士回答他：
「我也栽種了一株小樹。看哪！它正健康的茁壯。我將我的小樹交給神，因為祂知道我的橄欖樹真正需要什麼。我沒有提供祂我的意見與看法，我也沒有教導神種植的方法。
我只有簡單的禱告：『神啊，求你賜下它所需的一切。無論日曬或雨淋，無論風吹或霜降，你遠比我更清楚它的需要。』」－選
"Consider the lilies, how they grow" (Matt. 6:28).I need oil," said an ancient monk; so he planted an olive sapling. "Lord," he prayed, "it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and swell. Send gentle showers." And the Lord sent gentle showers. "Lord," prayed the monk, "my tree needs sun. Send sun, I pray Thee." And the sun shone, gilding the dripping clouds. "Now frost, my Lord, to brace its tissues," cried the monk. And behold, the little tree stood sparkling with frost, but at evening it died.
Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, and told his strange experience. "I, too, planted a little tree," he said, "and see! it thrives well. But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better what it needs than a man like me. I laid no condition. I fixed not ways or means. 'Lord, send what it needs,' I prayed, 'storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. Thou hast made it and Thou dost know.'"
