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"Lord if it's you..."


25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said. (Matthew 14:25-29)

Have you ever wondered why Jesus didn't tell Peter to stay in the boat and row out to him? I mean, that way, they all could have gotten a closer look at Jesus. Wouldn't it have been more reasonable and safer to tell a man who couldn't walk on water to "stay in your boat with your friends and row to me" or at least, "stay where you are and I will continue to walk to you"? Seems to me that Jesus was not interested in being "reasonable and safe" when he offered the invitation to come to him on the water. I wonder what was going on in Peter's mind when he appealed to Jesus, "Lord if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water." Safety and comfort was definitely not on Peter's mind either. This passage always makes me question, "what kind of requests am I making to the LORD?".

Seriously, am I asking the LORD to allow me to step out of the boat of my life and walk out on the water where he is? Or am I waiting for Jesus to stroll over to me and meet me where I am? I mean let's be real, Peter was taking a serious risk by getting out of the boat. No man has ever walked on water. He had no prior history to rely on. It was just him and Jesus. And really, that was enough.

"Lord if it's you..." Let me ask you something. And not in a rhetorical sense, but seriously, I wanna know. When was the last time you prayed a prayer like "Lord if it's you..."? When was the last time you prayed a prayer that took faith and courage on your part, if the LORD responded to you with the invitation to "Come"? I'm tired of praying prayers that if I'm really honest, I don't need the King of Kings to come through for me. In other words, prayers that could be answered by a lesser god or by a man with a lot of money. I'm not saying that God can't use people to bless others. He clearly does this everyday! But my point is this: if my prayers aren't deepening my faith in God and drawing me closer to him, (even if He says no!), then why even bother praying to Him? I want to pray prayers that takes guts to follow through. Prayers that make people say, "Are you crazy? You've never walked on water before!" Don't get me wrong, I'm not a thrill seeker or an adrenaline junkie; but every once in a while wouldn't it be cool to pray a prayer that speeds up your heartbeat when you embrace the implications of Jesus saying "Come"? What is your "Lord if it's you..." prayer? I would love to hear from you.

Comments

  1. Alecia Baptiste--Instrument of GraceJune 27, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    Phenomenal post!!!! I'm learning to pray prayers that get me out of the boat of my comfort. And I'm finding that I can "walk on water". Writing and publishing "Fear Lives No More" definitely got me out of the boat. And I'm seeing that our God is truly BIG enough to handle our biggest "Lord is it's you.." prayers.

    Love you.

    ReplyDelete

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