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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me keep reading or working out instead of worrying about how long it takes! Amen.

The Apostles were in a boat when they saw Jesus walking across the water toward them! Peter yelled, "If that's really you, tell me to come to you." "Come," Jesus said. Peter jumped out and walked on the water to Jesus - but got scared and sank. Jesus caught him and said, "You don't have much faith. Why did you doubt?" He brought Peter to the boat, and all the Apostles worshipped Jesus.

Any kid who has summer reading assignments knows that if you keep flipping to the end of the book to see how many pages you have left, it will make the book seem longer. Any kid who's into summer sports knows that if you keep checking the time instead of focusing on your workout, you'll suddenly feel more tired.

"Keep your eyes on the prize" is an old saying that means it's better to focus on your goal than worry about everything you have to do to get there. That's true for summer reading, sports workouts and even this week's Gospel (Matthew 14:22-33)!

It's amazing how you can make a book seem boring by keeping track of how long it is. (When you read "Harry Potter," those books probably didn't seem long; lots of kids boasted about having read 700 pages or more!) Eventually, you may give up reading it.

When Peter kept his "eyes on the prize" - getting to Jesus - he was so focused on his goal, he was able to walk on water to reach his friend and teacher. But when Peter looked down, he suddenly thought, "Wait a minute - people can't walk on water," and sank.

Faith is important. You know you can finish a long book or workout; you've done it before. Trust yourself instead of watching the time or the page count, and it will happen.

You can always refocus on the "prize," too. Jesus reminded Peter not to doubt - but also pulled Peter up before he sank too far![[In-content Ad]]

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