God is Who He says He is

Gospel MK 6:45-52

After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd. 
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray. 
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore. 
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them. 
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea. 
He meant to pass by them. 
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out. 
They had all seen him and were terrified. 
But at once he spoke with them,
“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” 
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. 
They were completely astounded. 
They had not understood the incident of the loaves. 
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.

Even Jesus, the Son of God himself, went off  "to the mountain" to pray.  How essential is it for all of us to detach from the distractions of the day for prayer and reaffirming God's will for us?  It's interesting, that the disciples, had not completely understood the incident of the loaves - reading into this, they were not completely convinced of Jesus' divinity.  In today's reading, they see Jesus walking on water of all things and  their initial reaction is fear.  Often for us (for me anyway) the initial reaction to a "stormy sea" is fear.  One way past the fear is to surrender power and control to the Living God - to live in the truth that God is who He says He is.