“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:31-32).
When I first looked at this verse, I thought God was just talking to Peter. However, the you in our verse was actually referring to all the disciples. Up to this time only Jesus had suffered persecution. He knew once He left His disciples, they would have to start facing it as well. He didn’t feel they were really ready for this, especially Peter. Not long after Jesus spoke these words, Peter would deny knowing Christ. Here was the outspoken leader of the disciples who had said he would go with Jesus “both to prison, and to death.” (Luke 22:33) about to do something he thought he never would. Within our verses we see the picture of a loving God who knew what the devil was up to and prayed for Peter and the other disciples. God also knew Peter would deeply regret his sin. I think that’s why He included the last part of our verses. He simply told Peter that when all was said and done, go to his brethren and encourage them. Tell the brethren that the devil wanted to stop the spread of the gospel any way he could. But we must never let him sift any of us like wheat.
We all make mistakes. We try to jokingly say, “The devil made me do it.” Wrong. We yielded to temptation and we lost a battle. We don’t have to continue to lose. The old hymn states “Jesus knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.” He will forgive and give us strength to keep fighting. Who was the dynamic preacher on the day of Pentecost? It was none other than the one mentioned in today’s verses. He was no longer Simon whose faith had been tested, but Peter, the one Jesus called the rock.
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: Home missionaries Len and Lynda Blanchard prepare breakfast each week for the Oxford (AL) High School soccer team. Pray that this community outreach opportunity might yield much spiritual fruit.
