More than getting an answer in times of trouble, prayer is a loving attention to the Beloved. It is a stance of trust, confidence, and love, trusting that the Lord knows our needs and will answer with just compassion. A heart in love knows how to hear the tiny whispering sounds. Like the mother busy around the house who hears the slightest whimper of her sleeping infant, prayer is hearing the whisper of God and taking notice.

    One with a true heart for God and a mature desire to pray will learn to hear this whisper, and thrill at its hearing. Such a one will also obey what they hear. If not the first time, as one matures, obeying becomes the satisfaction of pleasing the Lord, and receiving what he has offered.

    Even so, seasoned followers of Jesus will often find themselves resisting what they hear from Jesus. Often what is heard is not believed or is hard to understand. This is the experience of the disciples who see Jesus coming to them on the water. They are in a crisis of not understanding, so they resist and succumb to fear.

    The storm on the lake is more reflective of the inner storm going on in the minds and hearts of the disciples. They are still in awe and confusion over the abundance of bread that fed so many. The tumult of the waves and the resistance of the wind is a reflection of what’s going on in their hearts. They believe in Jesus and they want to follow him, but his words and actions have become so mysterious they can only resist with befuddled confusion.

    For his part, Jesus is teaching the disciples how to see and live in the spiritual consciousness of God’s presence. This is a difficult journey to make. The disciples are crossing the lake, crossing

over to the other side of faith if you will. It is a journey they have never made before, and there is no map to point the way. Jesus is the way and they must learn to read the signs of God’s presence and power that they experience in him without resistance or fear. They presume to be seeing a ghost, when they are seeing the spiritual presence and power of Jesus who comes to their rescue. Knowing their fear and confusion, Jesus calls them to faith. “Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid”. To say, “it is I” is to say, “I Am”. This is the name of God.

    With the fog of fear clearing, and hearing the words and voice of Jesus they find more firm footing and exclaim: “Truly, you are the Son of God”. This journey of crossing over to a deeper faith is one we must all make. More than praying only in times of crisis or trouble, we are called to know and recognize the presence and the power of Jesus through an active, daily faith and trust in him. Then we will hear his gentle whisper in our hearts and we will no longer cry out in fearful unknowing.

    I thank all those who took raffle tickets and encourage all others to join us. Let’s make this a successful expression of our faith community and our confidence in the Lord.

Father John Esper

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