God leads off tonight: “Hey, so have you thought about your missing piece or pieces?” 

The question greets my opening the door. I step onto the back porch in a t-shirt and jeans, but a breeze cuts through screens. I am not prepared for that. I say, “Nope, too cold for this,” and I dart back into the house. 

My Lord always catches me off guard when He’s out there before I am. I mean: It’s nice on the one hand. Makes me feel like something is expected though, and I have no idea what the “right” answer is. 

With a costume addition of hoody and hat, I return to the porch – at least prepared to face the cold. If I were more objective about the cold, it’s not even that bad. Still, it’s uncomfortable to me.

Now, I take my customary seat nearest to the back wall of the house. This spot gives me the best view of both the neighborhood and the trees. I say, “All right, what did You ask?” 

I imagine licked lips and a narrowed mouth – a look full of doubt that I forgot. Still, the question is repeated with the indulgence of Gandalf to a hobbit. 

I lean back in my seat, missing the sounds of the crickets. Tonight is quiet – not even the dogs announce themselves. “Let’s see,” I say, “there were homeschool lessons to plan, a very big fiction project to work on, and eight new audits at the day-job. So, I didn’t really have much time to ponder the issue.” 

I can easily picture a deep sigh with narrowed eyes, glaring through me, in the silence that follows. I could complete the image with: “Come on, man. Who are you talking to?” 

My beard gets a full scratch while I collect my thoughts. I say, “Well, there was one thing.” 

Finally, I get a laugh before: “Only one thing?”

I shrug the question away – though, it is a fair point. “I stayed in I Kings 19 for a bit,” I say. “Then, some other episodes came to mind like: Moses, the Woman with the hemorrhage, Peter on the water, and the Woman at the well. These are all very different episodes with the most divergent people, yet they all have a thing in common: They all happen in Your presence, so I wonder if that might add a piece to the mystery puzzle?”

My Lord leans back against the loveseat and says, “That would be fairly mysterious, especially given My note on the Creed from last time. So, which of those episodes stuck with you the longest?” (See Reflection #3 for that Creed note) 

“In this moment, I can only narrow down to two: The Hemorrhaging Woman (Luke 8:42-48) and St. Peter’s episode (Matthew 14:22-33). I like these two for opposite reasons. They end in the same place, but the path to that destination seems quite unique. I enjoy those differences.”

I hear another sigh and predict that sigh comes with a slow head shake. My Lord says, “Of course, you do, Joe. All right, what knot have you made this time?” 

“Now, hang on a minute!” I say, “Stay with me.” 

“Oh, I was going to do that anyway, so let’s hear it.” 

I continue, “All right, You have the Hemorrhaging Woman, and she fights her way through a crowd – just to touch Your garment. Then, You’ve got St. Peter, and he falls into a lake with no one else immediately around him.” 

My Companion intersects, “Wait, the other Apostles were with Peter.” 

I answer, “Right, but they were behind him. No one else had the guts to get out of the boat. He answers Your call and leaves everyone behind him.” 

I get a “Hmph” in response, so I keep talking: “So, I could say that the Woman starts far from Your presence but arrives in it. However, St. Peter apparently starts in Your presence yet leaves it briefly enough to fall into a lake.” 

My Lord responds, “I can’t say that either of them help your case, especially in light of what you had to say about Peter initially. After all, from that presentation, both of them only end up in My presence. They are only in My presence at the conclusion.” 

I reply, “All right, then – here we go: Starting with St. Peter’s scene, You invite him out of the boat, and he walks as long as his eyes are on You. It’s when he takes his eyes away from You that he falls into the lake and must plead for salvation. Salvation which You immediately provide. In this way, You are with him from call, to walking, and to destination.” 

“Hmm, that kind of feels like a stretch. I mean Peter walks to Me, not beside Me. Still all right, how does the Woman fit into this?” 

“I think the pattern applies even more to her. How else would a long diseased woman navigate that crowd? Surely, the Father inspires her call to seek healing; the Spirit guides her path through the crowd, and the Son heals. She keeps her eyes on You from walking out of her door with her petition always on her mind, and she receives her healing.  There’s no way that this woman is arriving at Your garment without Your presence in her call, her walk, and her destination.” 

I conclude, “As a result, Your presence is key to the mystery of prayer, because the Woman and Peter only reach their destinations by going with You. In other words, they can only arrive to make their petitions by being in Your presence the whole way.” 

This time, I can only imagine a smile on my Buddy’s face. I hear, “Well, that is certainly one piece that you didn’t have before.” 

‘Thank You for the guidance to it. I think it is certainly mysterious that You invite us into Your presence to make our prayer reality. We don’t have to email, phone call, or stand in long lines; rather, You invite us to make them directly. I don’t know about anyone else’s experience, but that certainly seems beyond my comprehension.” 

“But, it does suggest, at least, one more missing piece, right?” 

I sag against my chair. I sigh, “Of course, I am still missing something. So, on we go?” 

“All the way to My throne.” 

“Only by Your grace,” I say as I drag myself from my seat. 

My Lord’s eyes follow me to the door, and He says as I open it: “Yeah, that’s kind of the point.”