One night, the disciples saw the Lord Jesus walking on the sea and thought it was a ghost. They were afraid and cried out. The Lord Jesus immediately said to them, "Don't worry, it's me. Don't be afraid! At that time, Peter said, "Lord, if it is you, please let me walk to you from the water." Jesus said, Come. So Peter got off the boat and walked on the water to go to Jesus. Just because of the strong wind, I was afraid and was about to sink, so I shouted, "Lord, help me!" Jesus quickly stretched out his hand and caught him, saying, you of little faith, why do you doubt? "? 」
At first, Peter trusted Jesus, so he could get off the boat and walk on the water. Once he has doubts in his heart, he is afraid and can no longer walk on the water and then sink into the water. When he was about to sink, he sincerely shouted to the Lord, "Lord, help me!" " 」; When Jesus heard his cry, he quickly reached out and grabbed him and saved him.
Today I read Matthew 14, verses 22-33, about Jesus walking on the sea. Matthew, Kyle and John all mentioned it. But only Matthew recorded this story of Peter. At that time, the disciples were very afraid when they saw Jesus walking on the sea. They knew it was Jesus, and Peter said, Lord, if it is you, let me walk to you from the water. The Lord Jesus said, Come. Peter really took a step and began to walk.
Like Peter, when we hear the word of the Lord, we often take bold steps, but in this process, when our attention turns to the sinister environment, the surrounding pressure and people's remarks, instead of the Lord, we will become timid, so we will begin to sink.
Even Peter, the great disciple of the Lord Jesus, who was later called the Three Pillars of Heaven, and Peter, who was close to the Lord Jesus Christ, had such an experience. It's not surprising that we have it. The point is, what should we do when we sink? We should also call on and turn to the Lord, as Peter said, "Lord, help me!" " "
"Lord, help me! (Mt.14: 30) This prayer is the simplest prayer in the whole Bible.
Can our prayers be accepted by the Lord? The focus is not on the amount of prayer content and the length of prayer words, but on whether Carl's heart is sincere and credible. If you pray sincerely, God will listen!
Some people think that "if you talk too much, you will be heard" (Matt. 6: 7), and prayer must be very long, just like you are writing an article. Actually, it is not. Jesus said, "Don't be like them, because your Father knows your needs before you ask" (Matt. 6: 8).
2. concentrate on looking up: look up to the Lord, not the environment
Peter's eyes were fixed on the storm, and he became timid. At first, he walked well, because his eyes looked at God. Later, when he saw the storm, he was in danger. Brothers, when you believe in the Lord, you are very enthusiastic, love the Lord, look to the Lord and praise him. But gradually his eyes turned to the environment and difficulties, and he became weak and lost hope in the Lord. When I was in college, one of my classmates was a believer. He is an athlete, and he is very eye-catching. His classmates envy him. He has many friends who don't believe in god, so he has a bad influence? Leave the Lord and fall. But the Lord did not leave him, and the Lord raised him up. After his resurrection, he said that he would always follow the Lord, never sin again, and never listen to other people's temptations. He hung a banner in his living room, which read? The words "look to the Lord". It is well written. I'm glad to see it. Thank God for him. I hung it in the hall a few weeks ago, and soon I went to see him, but this calligraphy and painting was gone. I asked him why he was not there. He said, hang it in the bedroom. I feel sad, because I know that he has begun to regress, gradually not looking up to the Lord, not attending prayer meetings, becoming indifferent and not liking to meet believers. He spent all his time with unbelievers, and he failed again. He lived in darkness for several years. The Lord revived him, but he was in agony and had no strength for several years. Now bear witness to the Lord. When Peter is weak, he sinks, and when he is weak, he loses confidence. But he still cried out to the Lord, and he said, "Lord, help me." He knew that God could save him. As soon as he sank, he cried out to God. Brothers and sisters, have you ever had such an experience? When the devil almost wants you, when you almost commit a crime, when you can't stand up, when you feel discouraged, you still rely on the Lord and call on him: Lord, save me. The loving Lord will soon save you and your faith will be restored.
However, under such circumstances, we often still have not turned to the Lord. Sometimes, we turn to others and try to seek their comfort and help. Sometimes, we use our so-called cleverness to think of some expedient measures to spend; Sometimes, we let ourselves sink into pain and despair. This doesn't mean that we can't ask others for help. In fact, the Lord wants us to help each other. The key question is whether our hearts look to the Lord. And when we are helping others, don't forget that it is God who can really bring ultimate help to others. So, through prayer, let's learn to bring the problem to God together.
Don't doubt: when you are weak, you must turn around again.
Doubt and don't expect anything from the Lord.
Those who doubt the promise of the Lord should not expect anything from the Lord!
Peter could have walked on water, but why did he sink later? Is it because of the strong wind? Don't! Is it because it is dark at night? Don't! Jesus said it was because he was "confused" (T 14: 3 1).
The roots of the word "doubt" are "copy" and "shake". Therefore, a confused person, he is half-hearted, vacillating and has no fixed opinion. If a person has doubts about the promise of the Lord, then he can't expect anything from the Lord!
The Bible says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, ask God who gives generously to all people and does not rebuke others, and he will give it to him. As long as you ask confidently, you have no doubt at all; Because people who doubt are like waves in the sea, tossed and tossed by the wind. Such a person should not want anything from the Lord. A man with two minds has no fixed opinion on everything he does "(Ya 1: 5-8).
Suspicion is "astigmatism" in the eyes of the heart. If a person's eyes have astigmatism, he can't see the target clearly, because the light is tortuous from a single clear image to multiple overlapping images. If a person's eyes have astigmatism and he wants to shoot an arrow, he can't aim at the bull's-eye. He can only guess and put the result into luck, not sure.
Similarly, if a person doubts in his heart, he loses hope; When a person has doubts, he will lose his strength and can't go on; If a person has doubts, he will waste the precious resources of his life (time, friendship, money) for no reason and get involved in the whirlpool. The only way to save is to sincerely trust the Lord and shout to him, "Lord, save me!" " There is no other way.
It was because he doubted the Lord's promise that Peter fell. If people are half-hearted and vacillating, they can't expect anything from the Lord.
Are you a confused person?
In fact, in the face of many shocks in life, we should reflect: in fact, the biggest problem does not happen to us, but in our hearts. When the external environment constantly erodes our hearts and affects our confidence, it is very dangerous, so be careful! Remember, sometimes we can't control the external environment, but we can control the inner state of mind!
"We can't decide the length of life, but we can control the width of life;
We can't control the weather, but we can adjust our mood;
We can't change our appearance, but we can smile;
We can't control others, but we can control ourselves;
We cannot predict tomorrow, but we can make good use of today;
We can't do everything smoothly, but we can do our best. 』
As long as the objective environment does not affect our subjective beliefs, we can still stand firm in a safe place.
4. firmly believe.
Those who firmly believe in God will find great peace.
"Jesus quickly reached out and caught him." The Lord first reached out and caught Peter, and then rebuked him. The principle that the Lord leads us is: use oil first, then use wine (Lk. 10: 34); Supply first, then deal with it. "Small letter" is the confidence to look at the environment, because if you look at the environment, you will have "doubts"; True faith depends only on God's promises, not on circumstances. In normal times, if the Lord leads you ('come'), you can go forward with confidence; When you are weak, the Lord will "reach out and pull", which is enough to take refuge. How well prepared and safe the Lord's guidance and conservatism are! Because Peter believed the word of the Lord, he had the experience of victory (walking on water) and the salvation of the Lord; Those who dare to try the word of the Lord have more experience than others and enjoy the salvation power of the Lord.
"When they got on the boat, the wind stopped." As long as the Lord is on board (in the church), all storms will pass. Customers think that we travelers who travel in heaven often come to guide us through the difficulties in person.
"You are really the son of God", and all the accidents experienced by disciples are to know that he is "really the son of God". Everything God does in the environment and on us, especially making us weak and failing, is to make his son Christ appear. Every time the church experiences suffering, it will always increase its knowledge and experience of the Lord.
We don't need to laugh at Peter as a "man of little faith" (too 14: 3 1). In fact, if it were you, you might not be more confident than him. You may hide at the bottom of the boat and even dare not explore the outside, let alone get off the boat and walk on the water.
In fact, Peter is an adventurous man, and he is eager to go to Jesus. He is not a showman, but deliberately performs stunts in front of everyone to win applause and fame. Lord, if it is you, please tell me to come to you on the water. (Mt. 14: 28) Peter is eager to go to Jesus, and neither the strong wind nor the sea around him can make him give up this idea. Even though he was depressed by doubts, the Lord saved him in time and fulfilled his wish. Peter became the only person in the New Testament who walked on water except Jesus! His desire for the Lord is really our example!
Compared with Peter's doubts, the Lord Jesus is completely different. After feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, Jesus immediately did three things. First, he urged his disciples to get on the boat and cross over first. Second, "tell everyone to disperse"; The third is "going up the mountain to pray alone" (Tai 14: 22-23). He decided to do it, no doubt! No, half-hearted! Don't waver, after he created a miracle, he didn't ask people for applause, but asked God. He decided to be close to God, not man. People's applause is temporary, and God's applause is eternal; Man is temporary, but God is eternal. There are only three things in this world that are eternal: God, his word and human soul. He decided to do it, no doubt!
Compared with Peter's doubts, the Gennesaret people are quite firm and trust God. As soon as they recognized Jesus, they sent people with all the sick people to him and begged him to let them touch his clothes? Son; Everything touched will be fine "(too 14: 35-36).
Are you a confused person? Like Jesus, like Gennesaret!
The Bible says, "If your heart is steadfast, you will keep him completely safe, because he trusts you." (Supreme Audit Institution 26 3)
Conclusion: Let's learn Peter's prayer together-Lord, help me! Don't despair when we really have no choice. There's always another way. It always works. "Lord, help me!" This is our best source of prayer and strength!