"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail..." (Luke 22:31) Jesus was in touch with the spiritual side of the situations around Him. Most times, the reason, we don't take the best decision, say the right things, make the right moves is because we lose touch with the spiritual side of our realities. There is a spiritual side to every situation. And Jesus sees it; that is why all His prayers were answered because they were in line with God's will. Today's lesson is about praying with Jesus..
I have no doubt that you pray for yourself at some point. You may even have a disciplined prayer life where you have allotted a given time of the day, or day of the week for prayers. Or perhaps, you just freestyle it and "pray as you go". The point being that you believe in the power of prayer, and put it to action.
We often ask people - Pastors, fellow christians, parents, neighbors - to pray for us. But none of these people, no matter how invested they are in our lives, understands our problem like Jesus does. Unless the revelational gift of the Holy Spirit comes into play, people's prayer are as good as any guess work. The Bible says "we do not know what we ought to pray for" (Roman 8:26). But Jesus does. As He looks at our heart and being God, He knows what His will for our lives are, and He knows every move the devil is making.
In our text, Peter had a problem he didn't even know about. Peter was going about being his normal enthusiastic self. He was going about minding his own business and trying to do his part to make sure that Jesus fulfills His earthly ministry. Unknown to him, satan had made a special request on him. Satan had tendered a prayer request to God against Peter and his friends. Jesus said "Satan has asked to sift them like wheat - he had asked to destroy them". But the good news is Jesus prayed for Peter.
Friend do you know that each time satan initiates a new evil plan against you, Jesus prays for you! Jesus loves you so much. He didn't just save you and leave you on your own. He gave you the Holy Spirit; and He continues to pray for you everyday. It feels my heart with joy and confidence to realise that when I pray, I am not praying alone. Jesus is praying for me and with me. That is what He meant when He said, "lo, I am with you always" (Matt 28:20). He is right there in every situation, praying it out with you.
Tomorrow we talk about the subject of Jesus's prayer. When Jesus prays for you and with you, what exactly does he pray about. Keep a date!