Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Matthew 14:22-33

Dear God, what I don’t understand about Peter in this story is, how did it even enter his mind that he should go out there?

If I think about it, they had been watching you do these fantastic miracles. Maybe he just got overwhelmed by the moment and seeing this new, amazing miracle of Jesus walking on the water and he decided he wanted to try it too.

But back to my original question. What was it about his personality that took his mind there? I think Peter was a dreamer. Peter was probably an idea guy. If he were to be in an office, he would probably be the one on the room arguing that we should try this strategy and that strategy. The kind of person that I’ve always described as shooting first and seeing what they killed later. They always see possibilities. They aren’t necessarily great at execution, but they are usually an important aspect of leading a company.

Father, the reason I’m going through this is not because I want to or think I should be more like Peter. I understand that you made me to not be that kind of person. But I do think you want me to appreciate the Peters you have put into my life. I need them. I need them to dream for me—to make me uncomfortable. No, they aren’t perfect either. They need to be tempered. But it’s that type of person on which you chose to build your church. There is certainly something very necessary about them. Help me to really understand all of this and learn from it.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen