Overcoming through prayer

“And Peter answering Him said, Lord if it be you, command me to come to you upon the waters. And he said, Come. And Peter, having descended from the ship, walked upon the waters to go to Jesus.” (Matthew 14:28-29)

Prayer preserves us from resignation and at the same time helps us to overcome circumstances that are likely to depress us (see Phil 1:19). This is what Peter also experienced when, on the raging lake, he felt the desire to be very close to his Lord (Matt 14:28). What a courageous prayer this man prayed in these circumstances! He was prepared to give up human security in order to come closer to his Lord - to be with Him. But for this Peter needed a clear instruction from Him.

Through prayer we can obtain courage to let go and take steps of faith. How happy the Lord must have been to see someone who trusted Him wholeheartedly and had the desire to come to Him on the water! Only when Peter actually set foot on the water did he experience how the Lord carried him - an experience he would never have had if he had stayed in the boat, and which he certainly would not forget his whole life.

Sometimes we are afraid of putting ourselves in a situation where we are completely dependent on God, because we fear that at some point our faith will fail and, for example, we will lose face in front of others. How quickly it happens that someone is called reckless or irresponsible just because, trusting in God, they do something unusual, something that others may simply lack the courage to do!

When he was on the water, Peter actually began to doubt at one point. Suddenly all he saw was the strong wind and the waves in front of him. He lost eye contact with his Master and slowly began to sink - yet still having enough time to ask the Lord for help. To the short prayer, "Lord, save me", the hand of the Son of God was immediately there to pull him out of the water. As Isaiah writes in another context, "Behold, Jehovah's hand is not shortened that it cannot save" (Isa 59:1).

The Lord does not let those who trust in Him drown. He did not reproach Peter because of his bravery in climbing out of the ship. No, instead He rebuked him for his little faith. Do you also wish you had the confidence to pray a prayer like Peter's, or would you have criticized him from the boat when he suddenly began to sink? Let us not criticize others for steps of faith for which we may simply lack courage. Paul writes, "Who are you that judge the servant of another? to his own master he stands or falls. And he will be made to stand; for the Lord is able to make him stand" (Rom 14:4).

Do you long to know your Lord better through practical experiences of faith? Are you ready, if He wills, to leave your familiar surroundings and go into "unknown waters" where you are entirely thrown upon Him? What is stopping you from asking Him whether that is what He wants you to do? We often have so few real experiences of faith because we so seldom ask the Lord to give us a specific commission of this kind!

J.P.S.