Morning Devotional

May 25, 2005
"Hurricane Season" (Part 2)
    by Don Emmitte

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Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he sent the people home. Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. But Jesus spoke to them at once. "It's all right," he said. "I am here! Don't be afraid." (Matthew 14:23 NLT).

The central subject we began yesterday concerned how we prepare for troubles that may be in our future. How do we get ready to face the storms of life that will surely come from living in a fallen world? When trouble was coming in the life of Jesus, we saw yesterday, Jesus got alone, but there was a reason Jesus separated Himself from other people during these times. Jesus got alone so that He could talk to God in prayer. We are to do likewise.

Today’s verse tells us what Jesus did when He went to the mountain to be alone. It wasn’t a selfish pity-party. Jesus times alone were spent with His Father in quietness and prayer. Jesus must have recognized the significant value in knowing God intimately. This was surely His place of greatest strength. I believe Jesus was fit for battle, which He faced daily during His ministry, through His alone time with God in prayer.

Quiet is essential in this kind of prayer. Noise affects human behavior. In one experiment carried out by psychologists, a student leaving a library intentionally dropped an armload of books. In 50% of the cases, a passerby stopped to help the student pick up the books. Then the experimenters brought out a lawn mower without a muffler and started it near where a student would again intentionally drop the books. This time, only about 10% of the people who passed stopped to help. It was clear that behavior changed because of the earsplitting sound of the nearby lawn mower. In experiments in Los Angeles, researchers found that children who lived in neighborhoods near the airport could not complete certain tasks undertaken when jets were landing and taking off as easily as children who lived in quiet neighborhoods. Some studies of prison conditions have shown that the high level of noise causes more complaints by prisoners than the food or other prison conditions do.

As I asked you in the last devotional, when was the last time you got alone and were quiet before God? Have you begun to recognize the privilege of calling on the Creator of the heavens and earth in prayer? Are you relying on your relationship with God to carry you through life and prepare you to battle life’s storms? Try a little quiet time!