CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 683

“Cast Your Net”

John 21:1-14 (ESV) … Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore… He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish…

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Following His resurrection, Jesus had appeared to His disciples twice over a period of eight days. It is uncertain how much time passed following His second appearance but it was enough time that it triggered Peter’s ‘I have to do something’ personality into action. Doers detest sitting idle. In the absence of clear direction, doers fall back on what they know how to do, and in Peter’s case that was fishing. Note the following:

The Lord sometimes seems silent and distant. There are times in our life when it seems that God has abandoned us and left us alone in the wilderness to fend for ourselves. The enemy of your soul will bring that lie to your mind. The truth of God is that He will never leave you or abandon you.

Heb 13:5 …he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

If we water our lawns too much, the roots remain shallow and the plant becomes weak, susceptible to attack, and unable to withstand seasonal challenges. Proper periodic watering allows the roots to go deep and strengthen the plant. There are times when God pours out His blessing upon us and there are times when we wonder where He is. It is during these times of perceived abandonment that we are to endure, going deeper in our relationship with Him. This strengthens our faith and confidence in God so that we are better equipped in His power and Spirit to withstand and help others through the coming challenges of life.

Romans 5:3 …we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…

They did not catch any fish. Scripture is silent on the issue but it has been suggested that God kept the fish away from Peter’s boat that night. These men were skilled fisherman. They were doing what they knew how to do and were confident in their abilities. It would be easy to blame a lack of success on an attack of the devil. However, sometimes a lack of success in a particular undertaking is due to God’s intervention to redirect our focus and confidence from the things of the world and on our abilities and to wholly place our trust and dependence upon Him.

Leaders need to also follow. Peter was a leader. He was a decisive man of action. He decided to go fishing and several of the other disciples followed him. There must have been an authoritative quality to the voice of Jesus because they followed His instructions to cast their net on the right side without questioning the wisdom of this unknown person on shore giving them direction.

As leaders we need to ask ourselves: ‘If others follow me, am I leading them in the Lord’s direction and purpose or in the direction of man?’ ‘Am I helping them see Jesus or me?’ As leaders we need to come under the authority of Jesus and have a heart open to obey and follow His leading.

Are you a doer like Peter? Do you find yourself trapped in the doldrums without clear direction? Does it seem like the Lord is pouring out blessing on everyone else but you? Are success elusive and all your efforts thwarted at every turn? If this is your situation, now is the time to say ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening’. Now is the time to pause and go deeper in your relationship with Him: ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’

What net have you been casting? What have you been ‘fishing’ for? What success has eluded you for so long that you have lost hope in all that you ever placed your confidence in? May your hope always be in Jesus. May your confidence always be in God and may you have ears to hear and the heart to obey the command of Jesus when He directs you to ‘cast your nets on the right side’.

Close in prayer, thanksgiving & rededication of your work to the glory of God