Boats and Squalls

Father,

This morning I pray for your people—the ones I know and the ones I have yet to meet. I pray this morning for all the ones who feel that their boats are being swamped in a storm. They have found a leak in the hull and they are bailing as fast as they can. I pray for them in the overwhelm and the flood. As the squall continues and rises in intensity I pray for peace.

I pray we would know your peace in the middle of chaos.

Today I ask you would help us to remember that you are in our boats with us. Perhaps we are frustrated and irritated that you seem to be asleep, but help us remember that when your disciples called your name you were already present. And you took care of their need.

This morning as our boats tip and dip and lean please make us aware of your presence. Help us to speak your name and allow you to still our waters. Some of us, Lord, seem to thrive on the chaos believing it to mean we are important and indispensable. We like to be busy because it keeps us from having to think or actually deal with or confront the issues. The storm causes us to handle the immediate and the urgent, but it often shifts our focus from the eternal—from YOU.

Today, stand up in our boats. We ask you to stand up and tell the winds and the waves to be still. And help us to listen. Help us not to stick our oars in the water stirring up froth and foam. Help us to just be still and listen to your voice. Hear your directions.

Amen