“I Have Prayed For You”

by Chris Simmons

As Jesus approached the end of His journey and mission on earth, He once again addressed the carnality and selfishness of His disciples in Luke 22:24-27 saying, “the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.” Rather than concerning themselves about their honor among men, Jesus reminds them in verses 28-30 of the need to focus on the blessings and responsibilities found in His kingdom. They needed to learn to “love one another, even as I have loved you” (John 13:34).

Jesus then turns to Peter and warns him in verse 31 that “Satan has … demanded to sift you like wheat.” While he and his fellow apostles were vying for preeminence among each other, Jesus warned that our adversary, the devil, was preparing to attack. How often do we play into the schemes of the devil when we allow our pride and selfishness to govern our choices and decisions? When we are focused on promoting and pleasing self, we often become blind to Satan’s threat. Also preceding this declaration by Jesus was His warning that “the sheep shall be scattered” when the Shepherd is struck down, followed by Peter’s assertion that “though all may fall away, yet I will not” (Mark 12:27-29). We need confidence but we need to heed the warning of the apostle Paul in I Corinthians 10:12, “let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” Satan preys on those who aren’t taking heed to their spiritual standing. For that reason, Jesus then says to Peter, “I have prayed for you.” What is it that Jesus prayed for and how can we learn from that?

First, Jesus prayed for a faith that would not fail. Prophesying of Satan’s efforts to “sift you like wheat,” Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would be up to the challenge. Indeed, we are taught to pray for those “in authority so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (I Timothy 2:2) but we also need to pray that when life isn’t “tranquil and quiet” that our faith will remain strong. Rather than praying for challenges equal to our faith, we ought to pray for faith equal to any spiritual challenge. To help the brethren in Corinth deal with all of the spiritual trials and challenges they were facing, Paul in the closing portion of his letter (I Corinthians 16:13-14), exhorted, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” Paul wrote to the Colossians (2:5) rejoicing “to see the stability of your faith.” Jesus, using the words of Paul in Ephesians 6:16, was warning Peter of a quiver full of “flaming arrows” (fiery darts, ASV) that Satan would soon be shooting directly at him and that he needed to prepare his “shield of faith” to “extinguish” all of them. How critical is it that our “shield of faith” is at hand and prepared to defend against all attacks? Satan’s “flaming arrows” are many, relentless, and lethal if we are not alert and prepared. Jesus’ prayer is that our shield will be effective against each and every assault.

Second, Jesus prayed for a heart that will turn back to God. Jesus said in Luke 22:32, “… and you, when once you have turned again …”. John stated in I John 2:1 that he was “writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Our goal has to always be that “from now on” we’re going to “sin no more” (John 8:11). If we do sin, we need to have a heart that will turn to our Advocate Jesus Christ in humble confession and acknowledgement of our sin (I John 1:9; Psalms 32:5; Hosea 5:15) and true repentance (II Corinthians 7:11). We need to pray for those who’ve once again fallen to temptation and sinned that they will stand back up and return to God. We read in Proverbs 24:16, “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again.” What do we do after our faith fails? Will we stand back up, pick up our “shield of faith,” and resume the fight? The principle established in Luke 17:4 is that each time we sin, we need to keep returning to our heavenly Father. There’s no place to quit!

Third, Jesus prayed for a heart that would focus on the spiritual needs of his brethren. After Jesus prayed in Luke 22:32 that he would “turn again,” He prayed that Peter would “strengthen your brothers.” As we noted earlier from John 13:34, Jesus commanded a love for one another as He had loved us. We need to turn our attention away from ourselves and learn to “tend (His) sheep” (John 21:17). Paul exemplified this on his first preaching tour in Acts 14:21-22 as he returned to where he had preached the gospel “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, ‘through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’” The Hebrew writer in Hebrews 12:12-13 expressed it this way, “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.” Peter, understanding what it means to have Satan “sift” him like wheat, needed to encourage and strengthen his brothers after he himself turned back to God. We need to pray for each other and to do so earnestly. As Paul closed his letter to the brethren in Colossae, he wrote of Epaphras, who Paul says “sends you his greetings always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12). The Greek word for “laboring earnestly” means to fight or wrestle, “striving every nerve to the uttermost towards the goal” (Zodhiates). We need to fight for our brethren in our prayers also. Like Nehemiah urged his Israelite brethren in Nehemiah 4:14, will we “fight for our brothers” and “rally” (verse 20) to them in times of need.

Jesus prayed for a faith that would not fail, a heart that will turn to the Lord, and a focus on our brethren. I’m confident that Jesus’ prayer is for us as well.