lots has happened

I was gone on vacation and then we lost power. Needless to say, youth group and time at church in general has been quite irregular for me lately. However, when I was gone on Friday 8/17, Ming filled in and talked with the youth group about prayer from Matthew 14:22-33. This is the passage where Jesus walks on water towards the disciples in the boat after praying alone on land. He then calls out to Peter to walk on the water towards Him. This blog will contain his points as well as my own.

Here's a good passage on what prayer and faith are and are not. It should be any one or more of the following things: 1) further God's kingdom, 2) glorify Him, 3) make us closer to Christ, 4) make us be more like Christ. It is meant to focus on Jesus.

But just speaking the prayer and doing nothing afterwards is not enough. We must act. It is important to note that Peter was not testing Jesus in verse 28 when he was asking Jesus if it was really Him. Instead he was responding impulsively, as he typically did. When first going out on the water, Peter was actually walking on it. But then he saw the wind, saw he began to sink. Basically he took his focus off Jesus. When we see our problems as bigger than what we think Jesus can handle, we will sink.

As I mentioned earlier, faith is focusing on Jesus. It is not looking at our environment, surroundings, past experiences, or our feelings/emotions. For Peter walking on water, his faith in Jesus at that point should not be focused on the wind, the waves, the scientific notion that people cannot walk on water, or fear. But how difficult it is to do that sometimes! In the end, no matter where we are, it is good to know that Jesus is always there when you need help the most.