“On that day when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side,” and leaving the crowd they took him with them in the boat just as he was and other boats were with him and a great windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling but Jesus was in the stern asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace. Be still,” and the wind ceased and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
– Mark 4:35–41
Oh, there’s so much we could talk about based Mark 4:35–41, but I just want to dive right into praying and I want to pray specifically for those of you listening right now who are in the middle of a storm. I don’t know all that that means, but I know God does, I know Jesus does, and I just want to pray for you based on this passage.
Navigating The Storm Of The Pandemic
Oh God, we pause and we pray right now in the middle of a pandemic. So there’s a sense in which we’re all in the middle of a storm right now and it’s continuing, it’s been storming for months and it doesn’t seem like the storm clouds are going away and we’re discouraged in many ways and maybe frightened, maybe concerned. We’re trying, God, we’re trying to navigate these waters.
And then on top of that, I know that there are people listening right now who are walking through storms with their health, maybe related to COVID or maybe related to cancer, maybe related to other sickness or disease or struggles physically, and others struggling emotionally in different ways, others struggling relationally in different ways. Marriages with children or parents, with friends, family, struggles at work, struggles with jobs. God, so many different things represented in those who are praying right now, so many different storms.
Mark 4:35–41 Praises God For His Presence With Us
And so in the middle of it, we praise you, Jesus, for your presence with us in the middle of the storm. We are so thankful that the same Jesus who stilled the Sea of Galilee is the same Jesus who is with each of us right now, wherever we are, that you are with us and you have authority over all creation, you have authority over the wind and the waves, you have authority over disease, you have authority over sickness, you have authority over everything. You have authority over death. Death could not stop you. You have conquered death. You have all authority in heaven and on earth. So we look to you and we pray for your help in the middle of the storm.
We’re prone to ask the same question that the disciples were asking, “Don’t you care? Don’t you see what’s happening around us?” And we trust you do see. We trust you, not only see, but you promise to sustain us through the storm and to strengthen us through the storm and eventually to bring us through the storm, whatever that might be, but ultimately into your presence in eternity.
Mark 4:35–41 Trusts In God To Help Us Find Ourselves
So we say, we trust in you, we ask for your help in all the different storms we find ourselves in. We ask for your help, we praise you for your promise of help, and God, I just pray that over every single person listening right now, as they think about the storms that are surrounding them, may they know that you are with them. May they know right now in a fresh way that you love them, that you care for them, that the one who has authority over all creation in heaven and on earth is on their side. And if you are for them, nothing can stand against them. May they know your strength and your joy and your peace and your comfort and your help in every way, God, I just prayMark 4:35–41 over every single person who’s walking through a storm right now.
And we look forward to the day when these storms are over, when all the storms are over. We pray, hasten the coming of that day. Jesus, come quickly, we pray and help us, help us today and tomorrow, the next day, and whatever storms come around the corner, help us to trust you in the middle of the storm as we wait for the day when storms will be no more. We praise you for the hope we have in you and for the strength and peace that we possess through your presence with us. I pray all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
