Gone Fishing

Every two weeks we pray together with another couple for our adult children. Both are blended families and out of nine children, several spouses or significant others, and several grandchildren, only a few know Jesus. We have prayed for years, alone and together, for them, and sometimes, if we did not know better, it seems as if God has closed His ears.

The disciples learned a lesson about faith through a fishing experience. They had been working all night, came in empty-handed and were washing their nets. Jesus joined them and used one of their boats as a platform to speak to the inevitable crowd that followed Him everywhere. Luke tells the story.

“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’”

Apparently fish spend the night in the shallows and migrate to deeper waters during the day. This is why Simon (a.k.a. Peter) fished at night. To him, Jesus’ instructions made no sense. He could have muttered, ‘What does this carpenter know about fishing?’ But he obeyed anyway.

“And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’”

You just don’t catch fish like this. Whatever Peter had been thinking, he realized this man was more than a carpenter. He may have obeyed His order out of respect, but now he realized that should have obeyed Him out of faith.

I’m thinking how we have toiled far more than all night, yet nothing. We know that the salvation and consecration of the lives of those we pray for depends on the power of God. He can open their eyes to their need and draw them to Himself. He can convict them, grant them repentance, change their lives. Yet we have not seen that harvest, that ‘catch of fish’ that we hope for, large or small.

We have seen changes though. In all this, we are changing. I used to pray with benefits in mind for the people in our family. Now I’m praying more for the glory of God. I used to pray because their salvation would set my heart at rest. Now I pray realizing my heart can be at rest even if God never answers my prayers.

Still, I would like the lesson learned that day by those fishermen. I’d like God to surprise me like He surprised them. The Bible says, “For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.”

At that point, Jesus made a promise to Simon. He said, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” Then the men “brought their boats to land, forsook all and followed Him.”

In praying for these many years, I see that Jesus asks me to forsake all and follow Him, to obey even though it doesn’t seem as if there will be any results, and continue to “launch out into the deep” in prayer, expecting a surprise yet leaving the size of the catch up to Him.