CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 776

“Where is your Faith?”

Luke 8:22-25 (NIV)       One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out.  As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.  “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples…

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Have you thought of yourself as being a person of faith only to find yourself in a situation where your faith is shaken to the point that you wonder if you ever had any faith at all?  There are several lessons to take note of in our reference scripture taken from the Gospel of Luke:

Jesus said, “Let’s go to the other side of the lake” – Note that they were all together in the boat.  Living the Christian life means to grow in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ after accepting His free gift of salvation.  Being Christian also means giving Jesus lordship over our lives and to follow and obey Him.  Reflect on your life journey.  Is it characterized by a personal relationship with Jesus?  What path or journey has Jesus called you to embark upon as you follow Him?  Do you acknowledge His abiding presence in your ‘boat’ as you navigate the seas of your life journey?

Jesus fell asleep – Sometimes we set out in the direction we know Jesus has asked us to go and once along that path we seem to no longer hear from Him.  It is as if Jesus is asleep and we are going on alone.  Perhaps the going is easy for us at first and we begin to rely on our own intellect, training and strength.  We have fair winds and a following sea and all is right in the world so we tend rely on the Lord less and rely on ourselves more.  It is during these protracted times of silence and prosperity that we are in danger of trusting more in the things of this world than in Father God.  If the Lord seems distant, it is only because we have distanced ourselves from Him.  He has not left us.

The Storm hit– Being a Christian follower and believer in Jesus Christ does not exempt us from the storms of life.  Our faith will be tested and we will endure trials.  To think otherwise is foolish and not biblically sound.  We need to understand that Jesus is always there to help us through them rather than to help us avoid trials altogether.

The disciples woke Jesus in panic and fear – When we have become accustomed to relying on ourselves most of the time, we will experience panic and fear when we encounter situations too difficult or beyond our ability to handle.  To have a depth of overcoming faith our relationship with Jesus must be more than that of a 911 operator whom we call when we are in a crisis.

Where is your faith? – When we have a continuous personal relationship with Jesus, and prayerfully offer Him every day and every event and seek His wisdom in every situation of our life no matter how big or small, we will have much greater peace and joy when the tough times come. Up to that point the disciples had been in total reliance upon their seamanship skills to get to the other side of the lake.  Jesus wants us to rely on Him continually in all things.  I can do nothing in and of myself.  I can do all things through Jesus Christ.

Where is your faith?  Your faith lies in the depth of the personal relationship you have with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.