Take Him in the Boat With You

Calm the Storm  – Part 1

This happens to be one of my favorite prayers to pray. “Calm the storm.” 

Get yourself ready.
We have to go through these events three times and each time it presents us with something different. If you don’t like the Bible, you might want to skip this exercise, but if you want to see the power it [the Bible] makes available for you then stay committed to this exercise in prayer. We’re not praying scripture, but we’re allowing scripture to show us what’s available to us when we pray. You have the power to calm your storm.

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”
So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).
But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion.
The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!”
Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.
Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
– bible.com/bible/116/MRK.4.35-41.NLT

“They took Jesus in the boat.”
I’ve often missed this phrase when reading this passage. So often many of us get into our boats, our situation, our calamities, but He’s not in it with us. The small-letter-c church would have you believe that Jesus won’t go with you in trouble, but that’s not the case. And if you’re going to go, no matter where and how you go, take Him with you.

“Other boats followed.”
Have you ever considered who might be following you into the storm? I get it the storm has your attention, but some of the people who follow you don’t have Jesus in their boat. Therefore their safety could very well depend on who you have in your boat. What you do impacts others. You have Jesus in your boat. Let me say that again, you have Jesus in your boat! 

“Don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
Jesus didn’t answer in words nor did He give them a lecture. He responded as one who cares. Jesus’ response was in causing the storm to settle down. In other words, when you care, you do what’s necessary even if it means calming a storm, a pandemic, an epidemic.

“Do you still have no faith?” 
He brings you through the storm so that you can answer this question with no uncertainty…no.. I now have faith for this. It’s time we have faith for calming storms. It’s time we have faith for calming pandemics. It’s time we have faith for calming disasters and catastrophes. It’s time we have faith to say “storm be still.”

[Pray This]
Lord, There are people who’ve gone into their boats and are following us as we go through the storm. The difference is You’re in our boat.
Therefore, there is no reason we should be responding and behaving like those in boats without You. Instead, we’ve heard the lesson, we have faith for calming storms.
We have faith that You’re on board and no matter how messy our situations get, we know we will not perish. We’ve taken You on board! Amen!

(I think I feel a little something about to break.
Are you still with me?
There’s tremendous power available to you when you pray.)

Remember I said we need to go through the history of Jesus calming the storm three times. We have two more to go. This is the exercise of prayer. So tie up your shoelaces and get ready to get into it.  Little prayer, little power; much prayer, much power!

If you’d like to continue with the next prayer-workout, click this link:
“Part 2 – Wake Him Up!”