The last days were very busy for Jesus and His disciples. Jesus was doing a spiritual renewal. Crowds were participating in it. The people ate the provisions of food they had brought with them. Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish to feed them and complete the spiritual renewal. He fed about 5 thousand men, not counting the women and children. In this scene, Matthew recorded the following:
And immediately he commanded his disciples to get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And when he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. And it was evening, and he was there alone. The boat was already many furlongs from land, tossed with waves, for the wind was against them. And about dawn Jesus came near them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were excited and said, “It is a fish!” And they cried out in fear. But Jesus spoke to them immediately: “Take courage! It is I, do not be afraid!” › Mt 14, 22-27.
Jesus ordered the disciples to cross to the other side, that is, to return home. He himself dismissed the crowds and went up the mountain at night to pray. He prayed for a long time, because it was already dawn; this is how the expression “third watch of the night” should be understood. He came—walking on the waves—to the disciples who were struggling with a contrary wind. They were participants in another miracle of Jesus, the Lord of the laws of nature. Namely, without special divine intervention, it is not possible to walk on water.
The fragment shows several secrets of Jesus’ prayer. The first of these is its integration into a very active life. Christ must have been tired of spiritual renewal, tired of those thousands of eyes constantly glued to Him. Everyone watched His every gesture and action, caught His every word. Such scrutiny is tiring. Speaking for hours to several thousand people is also tiring. Humanly speaking, one must lie down and sleep for at least 12 hours to regain strength. The disciples had had enough and dreamed of sleeping in a house away from the crowds. However, they had to cross to the other side of the lake. And the wind was not making it easy for them. That night they did not sleep because they had to fight against the opposing waves.
However, Jesus did not choose to rest. He went up the mountain to talk to the Father. The Father was waiting for Him. The Father marked the time of the meeting. That meeting was more important to Jesus than anything else. That meeting with the Father took place without witnesses. Perhaps someone from the crowd went after Jesus to observe His prayer and occasionally to share this information with the apostles. It is difficult to conclude that Jesus was boasting about that meeting with the Father. Perhaps in other similar situations the Apostles noticed the “habits” of the Master, so in this case too they included His night in prayer. Night helps in concentration. It excludes everything that distracts. Important conversations quite often take place in the silence of the night.
We are in the school of prayer, and we look to the Master. We need to see the connection between our daily efforts and prayer. Prayer integrated into daily work is not enough. Time for God is needed. He Himself demands this time, and He gives it. However, work is more important to us, or fatigue prevents us from meeting Him. And this meeting always regenerates our strength. It is true that prayer requires concentration of attention and is an effort of the spirit, but at a certain stage of its development it becomes a source of strength. It regenerates the energy of the body and spirit. It is a time of connecting the heart and mind to the power of God, which is life.
Few people know this truth. If this happens, they have no problem even participating in the Eucharist every day. This is a common solution. Others reserve a longer moment in the morning, immediately after waking up. They know that God is waiting for them. It is an intense meeting with Him that puts a person on their feet and helps organize the whole of their day. There are more and more such people. Night vigils are very successful. If they are based on a current challenge, they can gather many people in prayer.
Excuses for a lot of work are a time of self-justification, in which fulfilling one’s own will or the will of others is more important than fulfilling the will of the Father. For He reserves time for us to meet every day and is always waiting. Another justified excuse is fatigue. But aren’t we ourselves guilty of being tired? Fatigue grows especially when we fulfill our own will or the will of other people. Fulfilling the Father’s will is connected with His support. We are truly formed from material that becomes tired… but God’s energy regenerates our strength.
