How many
times in life have we felt overwhelmed and wondered if we could meet all the
expectations that we or others have placed on us? Sickness, financial issues, family dynamics:
all are examples in life which might overwhelm us at some time or other.
Jesus
frequently spent time in prayer. One key
reason to pray is because God has commanded us to pray. If we’re to be obedient to His will, then
prayer must be part of our life in Him.
Jesus probably went off by himself to pray a lot more often than what is
written in scripture, and those documented times are many:
“After he had dismissed them, he went up
on a mountainside by himself to pray.” (Matthew 14:23)
“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a
place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there
and pray.'” (Matthew
26:36)
“Very early in the morning, while it was
still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place,
where he prayed.” (Mark
1:35)
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places
and prayed.” (Luke
5:16)
“One of those days Jesus went out to a
mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God.” (Luke 6:12)
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable
to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1)
One reason Jesus
prayed was as an example so that we could learn from Him. In His human nature, He needed periods of
prayer-filled solitude to restore His energies and renew His vision of what His
Father was inspiring Him to do. It’s the
same for us. We all have work to do for
God in our families, in our workplaces, in social gatherings, in our parishes
and in every problem that arises. Giving
of ourselves to others will always drain us; to thrive and grow in our
usefulness to God, we must allow Him to replenish us often.
Prayer helps
us to prepare for whatever lies ahead, even when we don't know what we're
walking into. What we gain from the Lord in our time alone with Him is a gift
designed for our benefit and for responding to the needs of others. It strengthens our faith, teaches us how to
walk on water, and sends us to the next shore where people who need God's help
are waiting. God wants to minister to them through us.
Leave it to
St. Peter to help us see how we deal with these surging waves of reality! The gospel describes St. Peter impetuously
getting out of the boat and attempting to walk on the Sea of Galilee toward
Christ. With his human tendencies, Peter
became fearful and distrusting, and began to sink. His beautiful plea, a prayer
we all can use, saved him. He cried out,
"Lord,
save me!" and
immediately Jesus stretched out His hand, caught him and said to him, "Oh
you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:22-33)
We might
criticize St. Peter for doubting, but with his loving, guileless nature he had
enough faith in Christ to at least step out of the boat. The other apostles had remained in the boat. There are times when a responsible Christian
life requires us to step out of our usual comfort and security. When this happens, we should remember St.
Peter, walk toward Christ with open arms and cry out, "Lord, save me!
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