The miracles of Jesus - Classical Christian Literature by Athleo.net

212 WALKING ON THE SEA
escaped from the attention of the vulgar crowds
which dogged His footsteps, and found congenial
employment in communing with His Father. To a
pure soul like His, weary of the shams, the strifes,
the tumults of everyday life, to come into contact
with the Eternal, in the stillness of the midnight
hour, must have been a luxury of unspeakable
preciousness. During the day He had to encounter
the murmurs of the
hypocritical Pharisee, the objections
of the haughty scribe, the sneers of the
shallow worldling ;
but now there is a cessation of
hostilities ;
the Pharisee, the scribe, the worldling
are at rest; and He enjoys the soothing influence
of the silent stars, the soughing winds, and the
mighty rocks. Here He could prepare Himself for
the conflicts of the morrow. And what did that
preparation consist in Prayer. It was this that
gave Him the strength necessary to overcome the
difficulties lying in His way. Does not this fact
suggest a very obvious lesson Does it not explain
much of our own weakness Why are we so easily
cast down Is it not because we do not systematically
retire from the world to converse with God
Depend upon it, the man who is instant in prayer
is always a hero in life's battle. Your cowards are
the men who are constantly baffled through relying
upon their own impotence.
But while our Lord was praying in the mountain,
His disciples were in imminent danger of their lives
upon the sea. A fearful storm had arisen, one of
those violent, sudden, rushing squalls peculiar to the
district, and it lashed the angry sea into a state of
implacable fury. The little ship that had a few hours