So far so good! :) I remembered to listen to the
Pray As You Go podcast on my way to work this morning. (Which is my own personal decision for prayer time, and not the requirement of the 30 day Cross Fit Challenge).
For any of you with smartphones, you can access the podcast by going to the website itself, or by downloading the app (also called Pray As You Go). I accessed the podcast today through my Laudate app - which is also a FANTASTIC resource for all of the prayers of the Church. Seriously, its like an amusement park full of so many wonderful Catholic things! (You can find the podcast under "Daily Readings & Saints" and then the 9th option on the screen is the pray-as-you-go.org podcast)
Today's scripture reflection was the story of the calming of the sea,
Matthew 14:22-36 .
The podcast began with some music and the narrator posed the question: "Can you begin by placing all your hope and all your trust in the Lord?"
Truth be told, I wanted to turn it off in that moment. I am going through some difficulties in my life right now and, as a result, I feel the gravity of placing all my hope and trust in the Lord - the depth of faith that it costs is so heavy! And yet, I know he is lovingly beckoning me, asking me to take His hand, and trust in Him.
I hadn't even gotten to the "real prayer" part yet and God was already stirring in my heart.
In listening to the scripture, something stood out to me that I have never noticed before: Peter practically challenges Jesus to make Him walk on water!
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I;* do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
I mean, what was Peter thinking??? Scripture says that the disciples were "
terrified" and that they "
cried out in fear" Was Peter testing God's power? Was he simply seeking a sign of God's authority for his own consolation? Or was he just so desperate for it all to be over that he was begging Jesus to calm the seas?
Jesus didn't calm the storm initially, but he did tell Peter, "Come."
And Peter stepped out in faith, and then looked around him and the storm was still raging on. Had he expected Jesus to calm the storm first? I know I do. I cry out to God to be with me in the situation and make it stop, and then I doubt Him when it doesn't stop. The storm rages on.
But my hope today in this scripture is that Jesus doesn't torture Peter. He doesn't let him drown in order to teach Him a lesson about faith. Jesus sees that Peter is weak, and Jesus goes in after Him (so to speak). He calms the sea. Jesus is merciful. He wants our whole hearts. He wants us to have the faith to move mountains, and walk on water, but when we don't, He comes to us, and grabs our hand, and pulls us up to where we need to be. He doesn't let us drown if we ask Him to help- if we keep our eyes on Him.
Let us pray.
