Daily Prayer Guide - Experiencing Jesus' Presence When You Don't See Him

 

Read: John 21:3-14

 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. ⁷ That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. ⁸ The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

⁹ When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Consider:

It had been nearly a week since the last time the disciples had seen Jesus and they had made their way back to Galilee.  Peter is ready to get out and do something, something that seems normal.  “I am going fishing” and they were all ready to go.  It was a long night with nothing to show for it. 

Early in the morning, Jesus shows up on the shore and he calls out to them with a new title “Children”.  With his new authority as the ‘Son of God’ he is now right to identify them now as ‘children of God’.  He asks a question that he already knew the answer to, ‘do you have any fish?’  He was specifically asking about fish that would be eaten.  ‘No’ they reply and now Jesus, from the shore, tells men who have been fishing all night to throw their nets on the other side with the promise to find a catch.  They receive their biggest catch, so large they couldn’t draw it in, they would have to drag it to shore. 

Instinctively, John recognizes the man on the shore is Jesus.  He didn’t recognize him by sight, nor by his voice, but after they respond to Jesus in obedience and he sees the result, his heart nearly leaps out of his chest and he cries out ‘it is the Lord’. 

When Peter hears his brother in Christ identify the man as Jesus, his heart leaped into his feet that couldn’t get out of the boat fast enough to get to him leaving the others to do the work of getting the boat and haul to shore. 

Jesus already had fish and bread waiting, but he tells Peter to bring some of his catch.  While he was dragging in the fish that were no longer swimming, his mind certainly was.  He had seen large catches before, he had seen fish and bread before, and he was reliving so many lessons from Jesus in his mind as he collected his largest catch and recognizing the nets weren’t torn,  there was no wear and tear on his livelihood. 

Jesus was offering him breakfast from the catch he just received by faith.  The man they could not recognize by face and they instinctively knew by faith was now feeding them from their work of obedience.

Maybe today, as you have been sheltering at home for several weeks now, you are feeling the absence of your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Your faith was connected to your engagement in a building with services and studies that have now been removed and it is hard to recognize your relationship with Jesus in the way that it was.  Is he calling you to cast your net in a new direction?  He has a new way for you to engage with him, but will you.  Maybe spending more time in his word, perhaps memorize, even sections that begin to marinate in your mind.  Wake at new hours to spend time with him in prayer.  Now you’re engaging in a community through a screen.  Let Jesus feed you his fish and bread, bring the catch of your obedience to the table and let it begin to bring you a new strength. 

This story takes an endearing twist, but we will pray through that tomorrow. 

Prayer: Father, Jesus has a way of meeting us in ways we never expected and are not always sure we recognize his presence, but thank you that he is always working to shape me into the person he wants me to be.   

·      Thank God that Jesus provides for you physically and spiritually to feed your body and soul.

·      Thank him that your soul recognizes his presence even when your eyes are blind to him.

·      Ask him to help your faith in Jesus to grow during this time you are sheltering at home. 

·      Ask that his Word would feed your soul and your time in prayer would bring you joy.

Father, Thank you that Jesus cares for us.  Thank you that your Spirit and your Word will feed us. Help us experience the blessings of obeying you.   Amen 

Meditate: John 1:10-13

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.