Water Walking .....

Water walking.....stepping out in faith and doing something that is impossible. According to Matthew 14: 22-31 Peter also had a brief experience where he was able to walk on water . Matthew's account is the only one that even mentions Peter's attempt. I was surprised that even in John's account he does not mention Peter's actions.

In a recent conversation I was asked to write a story about what happened to Peter after the experience. So here's Peter's account according to my imagination.

We begin the story at verse 30: Jumping out of the boat. Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink....

"Master, Save ME!" I screamed out to HIM knowing full well that sound of the waves and the winds have taken my words out to sea. "Why did I jump out of the boat?" I ask myself. "How stupid was that? I can't walk on the water! What was I thinking? Was I thinking at all? I'm going to drown right here, right now, in front of all my friends. Maybe if I start kicking my feet I can swim a few feet back toward the boat before the sea claims me. LORD, HELP ME" was the last thought in my head as I crashed below the waves.

Just as these thoughts were racing through my head Jesus instantly reached down and grabbed my hand. I felt my body being elevated over the raging sea. His eyes were kind and even mildly amused.

"Why did you doubt?" he asks me with kindness and compassion. "When have I ever failed you? " I know you so well," he says, "I knew it would be you that would jump out of the boat without a second thought. Weren't you with me this afternoon when I fed thousands of people from just one little boy's lunch? Is anything impossible for me? Why did you panic? "

There were no words that I could speak. My spirit was crushed by HIS disappointment. I had failed. I started out so well. I'm not a coward. As a fisherman I had weathered bad storms before, I was the one who usually called out words of encouragement to my friends .

"Hold fast men!" I would bellow. "Stay the course, we can get through this storm!"

"Stay the course" I thought....how hollow those words sounded to me now. " I was distracted ,"I thought to myself. " It really wasn't my fault....but I knew it was."

We were at the boat and we both climbed in. The wind suddenly stopped. The sea was calm. I sat in the boat waiting for the others to start laughing at me for being so foolish. No one laughed, no one spoke, their faces were white and they stared in awe at HIM.

"Truly you are the Son of God," they said as they began to worship HIM. "Only God could do the things you do! THIS IS IT! YOU ARE THE PROMISED ONE!

We sailed on to the other side of the sea. No one ever asked me what Jesus had said to me out on the water. No one even mentioned or seemed to notice that I had ever left the boat. Had each man heard HIM speak individually to their hearts? Did each of the disciples have a personal encounter with the Son of God?

I don't know the answer to that question, I don't even know if it was important for me to jump out of the boat, but I do know what it felt like like to walk on water ( if only for a brief time) and I know that I will never be the same again.

Water -Walkers are Pray-ers

Mr. Wonderful and I are reading a John Ortberg book called, "If You Want To Walk On The Water, You've Got To Get Out Of The Boat."

The following story is my favorite.

" One of my favorite adventure in prayer involves Doug Coe, who has a ministry in Washington, D.C., that mostly involves people in politics's and statecraft. Doug became acquainted with Bob, an insurance salesman who was completely unconnected with any government circles. Bob became a Christian and began to meet with Doug to learn about his new faith.

One day, Bob came in all excited about a statement in the Bible where Jesus says, "Ask whatever you will in my name, and you shall receive it."

"Is that really True?" Bob demanded?

Doug explained, " Well, it's not a blank check. You have to take it in context of the teaching of the whole Scripture on prayer. But yes- it really is true. Jesus really does answer prayer."

"Great!", Bob said. "Then I gotta start praying for something. I think I'll pray for Africa."

"That's kind of a broad target. Why don't you narrow it down to one country," Doug advised.

"All right. I'll pray for Kenya."

"Do you know anyone in Kenya?" Doug asked.

"No"

"Ever been to Kenya? Doug asked

"No". Bob just wanted to pray for Kenya.

So Doug made an unusual arrangement. He challenged Bob to pray every day for six months for Kenya. If Bob would do that and nothing extraordinary happened, Doug would pay him 500 dollars. But if something remarkable did happen, Bob would pay Doug 500 dollars. And if Bob did not pray every day, the whole deal was off. It was a pretty unusual prayer program, but then Doug is a creative guy.

Bob began to pray, and for a long while nothing happened. Then one night he was at a dinner in Washington. The people around the table explained what they did for a living. One woman said she helped run an orphanage in Kenya- the largest of its kind.

Bob saw 500 dollars suddenly sprout wings and begin to fly away. But he could not keep quiet. Bob roared to life. He had not said much up to this point, and now he pounded her relentlessly question after question.

"You're obviously very interested in my country," the woman said to Bob, overwhelmed by his sudden barrage of question. "You've been to Kenya before?"

"No."

"You know someone in Kenya?"

"No".

"Then how do you happen to be so curious?"

"Well, someone is kind of paying me 500 dollars to pray...."

She asked Bob if he would like to come visit Kenya and tour the orphanage. Bob was so eager to go, he would have left that very night if he could.

When Bob arrived in Kenya, he was appalled by the poverty and the lack of basic health care. Upon returning to Washington, he couldn't get this place out of his mind. He began to write to large pharmaceutical companies, describing to them the vast need he had seen. He reminded them that every year they would throw away large amounts of medical supplies that went unsold. "Why not send them to this place in Kenya?" he asked.

And some of them did. This orphanage received more than a million dollars' worth of medical supplies.

The woman called Bob and said, "Bob, this is amazing! We've had the most phenomenal gifts because of the letters you wrote. We would like to fly you back over and have a big party. Will you come?"

So Bob flew back to Kenya. While he was there, the president of Kenya came to the celebration, because it was the largest orphanage in the country, and offered to take Bob on a tour of Nairobi, the capital city. In the course of the tour they saw a prison. Bob asked about a group of prisoners there.

"They're political prisoners," he was told.

"That's a bad idea," Bob said brightly. "You should let them out."

Bob finished the tour and flew back home. Sometime later, Bob received a phone call from the State Department of the United States government.:

"Is this Bob?"

"Yes."

"Were you recently in Kenya?"

"Yes."

"Did you make any statements to the president about political prisoners?"

"Yes."

"What did you say?"

"I told him he should let them out."

The State Department official explained that the department had been working for years to get the release of these prisoners, to no avail. Normal diplomatic channels and political maneuverings had led to a dead end. But now the prisoners had been released, and the State Department was calling to say thanks.

Several months later, the prisident of Kenya made a phone call to Bob. He was going to rearrange his government and select a new cabinet. Would Bob be willing to fly over and pray for him for three days while he worked on this very important task?

So Bob-who was not politically connected at all-boarded a plane once more and flew back to Kenya, where he prayed and asked God to give wisdom for the leader of the nation as he selected his government. All this happened because one man got out of the boat."


Now I ask you, What's Impossible for God? Doesn't He deserve our best effort?