Jesus is Praying for us

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

JESUS IS PRAYING FOR US

Luke 22:31-38

31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."  33 But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." 34 Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."  35 Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered.   36 He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment."  38 The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords." "That is enough," he replied.

NIV

Interestingly, we see that Satan has asked to tempt Peter, much as he asked God to let him go after Job. In both cases, he wanted to show God the man Job and this man Peter would not be faithful and fall away, fail completely, away from Christ. However, Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not utterly fail, that he would sin, that he would deny Jesus three times, but that he would also turn back and be able to use his experience to warn others and to teach others, encourage their faith. When we read the letters of Peter, we see he did just that, encouraged, warned, and exhorted his readers about faith in Jesus Christ. This also demonstrates the prayer of Jesus was and is always heard and is always answered. Jesus told Peter that when he had turned back, showing Peter Jesus had faith in him, although Peter would fall short, and sin by denying he was a disciple of Jesus, he would realize his sin, repent, and become one of the strongest defenders, mighty in faith, and go on to become one of the leaders of the early church. This is an encouragement to us because Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father and He is continuously making intercession or praying for us that when we fall short, when our faith has been weakened by falling into some temptation, when we turn back, which we always will, we can encourage others that Jesus is always there praying for us and his prayers are always heard and always answered. Satan may well be asking God if he can sift us, as he did with Job and Peter, and that is why God gave us His armor, but that is also why we can be assured that Jesus is praying for us. It is like God is praying to Himself, and the answer is always going to be yes, We will protect our people, We will be with them, and We will never forsake them, and although they fail at times, We know they will always be Ours, and they will never stay down, or uttering turn away from Us because We are always praying for them. We use the terms “We, Us, and Ours, in the sense of the triune God. The Son prays for us, the Father answers and the Spirit responds, as He dwells within us. We are completely in the hand of God with all of his almighty power at work for, in, and through us. Peter became a mighty man of faith even after failing so miserably. God has delivered us so that we can be that mighty man of faith and can warn others, He has called me to that labor, all the days of my life, and I cannot stop, I must go on encouraging others, as Peter did because Jesus is praying for me and for you.