Prayer when a storm arises
Written by Tammy Darling
Bible reading:
“That day, when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go to the other side.”” Mark 4:35, NIV
Listen or read below:
During a time of prayer, my husband heard the words, “Build a boat.” When I asked him what he thought that meant, I jokingly replied, “I don’t know. Maybe we’re going on a cruise.”
We pondered the meaning of that word for weeks, but the Lord gave us no further insight. We just didn’t know what it meant to “build a ship.”
Then a storm broke out.
My husband reluctantly went to a local convenient care center because he had pain on the right side of his neck that then spread to his chest. After being sent to another clinic for further tests, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
From the time of his initial diagnosis, my husband has been completely at peace. Me, not so much. I was worried about losing my husband of nearly 35 years. I’ve known him since I was 9 years old.
I took my fears to God and continued to focus on the relevant scriptures, but I still didn’t feel the peace that my husband had. My husband lost his father to cancer when he was 12 years old, and he felt absolute peace that he was going to be okay.
“Please build a ship.” Why? Because we were going to get to the other side. Like the disciples, we needed that boat to get to the other side.
After a long day, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go to the other side.” Long story short: Jesus took a nap. A storm broke out. Jesus calmed the storm, and then so did his disciples.
God said to my husband, “Build a boat.” Because we were about to be tossed around by a storm we didn’t see coming.
Because my husband’s thyroid gland was completely covered in a mass, doctors said they needed to completely remove it, along with the surrounding lymph nodes, “just to be on the safe side.” Doctors were confident that this “easily treatable” cancer could be cured with surgery and that everything would be fine.
Considering all these positives, I was not prepared for the first words my surgeon told me after the three-hour surgery: “The surgery did not go as planned.” (Big waves are rocking the boat here.)
Although this surgeon is top-notch in his field, he is known for being unfriendly. My heart hit the floor and I was speechless. I held my breath as the surgeon continued. “The mass was bigger than I expected… It was attached to the back of my throat… I couldn’t remove all the cancer… The right side of my throat is paralyzed.”
It couldn’t have been more shocking if a Tyrannosaurus rex had walked into the waiting room. When the surgeon asked if I had any questions, all I could do was shake my head no. I had all my doubts. I was just shocked and speechless.
I remembered the boat my husband was instructed to build and the message behind it. We were hoping for instant healing, but God had other plans. God wanted to guide us. Through the trial. Through uncertainty. In the storm. To the other side.
My husband would be fine, and by now I pretty much believed that too, but I also believed, like the disciples, that this is what Jesus was going to have us experience. And I didn’t know how long it would take to get to the other side. Further treatment will be required because all of the cancer could not be removed.
Eight months later, after undergoing $48,000 in radiation therapy, a full body scan revealed that my husband was cancer-free. The cancer was completely eradicated, but not in the way or timing we had hoped.
Getting to “the other side” was tough, I’m not going to lie. Those in-between moments can test your faith like nothing else can. Like the disciples, all I could see was the waves crashing against the side of the boat and the wind rocking me back and forth. Perhaps that is why, after Jesus calmed the storm, he asked his disciples, “Why are you afraid? Do you not yet have faith?” Like the man whose son needed to be rescued in Mark 9:24, all I could say was, “I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.”
Being beaten down and tossed about by the waves of life – that’s what happens in life, isn’t it? But the important thing here is that Jesus is in the boat with us. we are not alone!
And as much as we want to avoid those in-between moments, we need them. Those in-between moments are sacred. holy. Some of the greatest growth we experience comes from overcoming something and getting to the other side. These are moments that develop our faith and trust in God.
Let’s pray:
Jesus,
Thank you for being with us, no matter how raging the storm. With that knowledge, we can rest and take a nap, just like you did in the boat when the storm broke out. When you tell us we’re going to the other side, we know we’ll overcome whatever challenges we face. You are truly with us in all things.
I pray with a grateful heart, amen.
Discuss today’s devotion with others in the “Daily Prayer” thread in the Crosswalk Forums.
Photo courtesy: ©GettyImages/fizkes
Tammy Darling is the author of 1,600 articles and three books. She writes from her home in rural Pennsylvania.
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