Jesus Is Praying for Us

At Passover, Jesus turned aside to the bold disciple Peter and revealed, “Peter, Satan has demanded that I turn you over to him that he may shake your very life.”

“The Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.’ Then He said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me’” (Luke 22:31-34).

Peter boasted of having an unfailing faith in front of the other disciples, “Lord, I will never doubt you. I would die first.” Satan was about to orchestrate a supernatural attack on Peter’s faith. To sift means to “shake violently.” Simply put, the devil wanted to shake the foundations of Peter’s faith in the severest way possible.

Peter had declared his faith in Jesus’ divinity, saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), so his faith was genuine — which was the very reason the devil went after him. When we are in the midst of a trial, it is hard to see that we are in the fire due to our walk with Jesus. But Peter was about to become a pillar of God’s church, launching the gospel into the world at Pentecost, and you can be sure Satan was not going to let that happen without a fight.

Jesus knew the satanic onslaught to come upon Peter was aimed at his faith, so he prepared his disciple by telling him, “I have prayed for you.” Imagine — Jesus praying for you! Many of us may have experienced times of sifting, but few can imagine Satan’s attacks being so severe that we would be tempted to deny Jesus. What a comfort to know that even if we experience a time of a lapse of faith, Jesus is praying for us, bringing us back to strength so that we, in turn, can witness to others.