Prayers For Walking On Water

This is Stu Epperson from the Truth Talk Podcast, connecting current events, pop culture, and theology, and we're so grateful for you that you've chosen the Truth Podcast Network. It's about to start in just a few seconds.

Enjoy it and please share it around with all your friends. Thanks for listening, and thanks for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Encouraging prayer. God offers an open invitation for his people to talk with him at any time about anything. On Encouraging Prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray. And now, here's James. So James, today we're going to be talking about how to walk on water? Well, not exactly Rachel, but we are going to talk about two people who did and something amazing about that moment that can really help us pray. Okay, I'm in. And I'm guessing you're talking about Jesus and Peter and the night Jesus sent the disciples out on the water and then joins them hours later and they think he's a ghost.

Exactly. Matthew writes about it in the 14th chapter of his Gospel, so let me just read that part. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear, but Jesus immediately said to them, take courage, it is I, don't be afraid. Lord, if it's you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water.

Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me.

Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said. Why did you doubt? So we'll stop reading right there, but there are two things about what happened that night that really jump out at me when it comes to praying and especially praying with faith. And the first thing is, did you notice how Jesus described Peter's faith? Yeah, he said, you of little faith.

That's exactly right. But think about that for a moment. It's actually an amazing thing to say, because look at it this way, if even with just a little faith, Peter was still walking on water. I mean, that's pretty wild, right? That is, yeah, I had never thought about it that way. You know, we don't tend to, we tend to think of Peter mustering up this faith to go out, you know, to step out of the boat.

And by the way, that's an interesting thing as well. You know, we when we talk about this passage, we're usually pretty critical of Peter, right? You know, Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and sank like a stone. And yet, you got to wonder, there are 11 other guys just sitting there in the boat.

And they never stepped out of it. So don't you want to be the guy that does? But, you know, you think about, think about it this way, it's really all Jesus. I mean, it's Jesus power, that that he's walking in. And the reason I say that is look at the way it starts this, this whole encounter, what happens is, is Peter says, Lord, if it's you, right?

Yeah. And I mean, there's not a lot of faith in that. And then he's asking the Lord to prove himself.

So Lord, if it's you tell me to come to you on the water. But the beautiful thing about this is that still Jesus meets him right in that place. I mean, I find that very cool. And it also shows us that the power of just a little bit of faith in Jesus hand is a powerful thing. I mean, it's an amazing thing. Because, again, with just a little faith, you have little faith, there he is.

He's, he's walking on water. So remember what Jesus said elsewhere about just a little faith? Yeah, yeah. He said that faith, the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. Exactly.

Yeah. But But again, it's faith in him. And sometimes I think we tend to turn faith on ourselves and we tend to say, Oh, you know, we it's like, as if it's something we work ourselves up into. But no, it's faith placed in Jesus hands. So as, as soon as Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, that's when he sank.

And we can't let go of the fact though, that again, still with a little faith. There he was, I mean, look at Peter go, you know, before he got to that point. And by the time he finally did sink, he was so close that Jesus just reached out and grabbed him. So he almost made it. Yeah. And you also said there was a second thing about this encounter that teaches us something about prayer.

What was that? Well, if just a little faith in Jesus walks on water, what kind of faith would he like us to have? And if Jesus is saying right after Peter has walked on water, you have little faith, why did you doubt and I know he's, he's really being critical, especially Peter's doubting in that moment. But I think that a takeaway from this is we need to ask him as the disciples did to increase our faith. Because when we get our faith from him, then it's a powerful thing.

Can you give our listeners a practical example about this from everyday life? Yeah, actually, I think of something that God did for my wife Carrie, when we were praying for our son Jeff to come out of heroin addiction and return to Jesus. And one of the things when Jeff was still very much in addiction, but one of the things that God did for my wife was that she gave that or God gave her the gift of faith that he was going to use our son in ministry someday. And I couldn't see that. I mean, I that was the farthest thing from my mind just because of the way my son had been for years. And yet she believed it. And the thing that takes my breath away is that that is what he's doing today.

He's, he's a senior high youth pastor in a very large church in the same city where he wants abused heroin. And only God can make that happen. But what happened here is that, again, my wife saw it long before it ever came to be. So that's, that's what I mean about getting our faith from him. And I'd emphasize that he has things that are uniquely for us.

I mean, you know, I wouldn't go down to the marina and try to walk on water. That was special for Peter between Peter and Jesus, just in that moment. But he has other things that are special for us that are just waiting for us, if we'll turn to him in faith. And, you know, you got to wonder, what will that be?

And there's really only one way to find out. I think that's a... So let's, yeah, let's go there and let's pray right now to close out. Lord, please help us increase our faith. Help us to look to you in faith. Lord, we look forward to what only you can do and those things that you have just for us as we look to you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.