In our reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is looking for a place to pray after hearing of John the Baptist’s death. As we read in chapter 14, he arrives at his destination, and upon seeing the multitude of people gathered, “his heart was moved with pity on them.” It was evening time, and the people were hungry, but the disciples, knowing they did not have enough food to feed the multitude, begged Jesus to send them away. The reply from Jesus was to tell the disciples, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” The reaction from the disciples was precisely what a practical person would say, “five loves and two fish are all we have here.” They were reminding the Lord that there was a reason they asked for him to send the people away as that amount of food was not near enough to feed so many people. But the disciples sought to solve the problem through their own devices. We know that the Lord did not heed the advice and instead miraculously multiplied the bread and fish to feed all the people. The message for us to meditate on is how often we fail to truly trust in the Lord to deliver us from whatever predicament we find ourselves in. How often do we fail to take our needs to him in prayer? Is there something in your life or that of a friend or loved one that a prayer offered to God might start the process of raining down his mercy and gracious generosity?