I recently heard a sermon at church delivered on the passage of scripture concerning Jesus telling Peter that Satan has asked permission to “sift you like wheat”. The passage foretells Peters denial of Jesus and is located in Luke 22:31-32:
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (NASB)
During the sermon, a few thoughts leapt into my mind concerning this statement that Jesus made to Peter. We see that Jesus was actually warning Peter of a trial that was soon to come his way. Jesus was actually telling Peter that Satan was getting ready to come against him in a deliberate and harsh manner. I’m not sure that Peter completely picked up on this and understood what was about to happen though.
But what I find interesting is the subject of Jesus’ prayer for Peter. For one, Jesus didn’t tell Peter that he had rejected Satan’s request to “sift” him – comforting words to Peter, I’m sure! But even more notable in my mind, He didn’t pray one whit for Peter to pass the test that he was about to enter into. He didn’t say “Peter, make sure you don’t fail me, and just to help you out I have prayed for you to overcome Satan in this trial”. We find none of that language or even intent in Jesus’ prayer. Jesus doesn’t even address how Peter should perform, what words he should say, or what his actions should be during his upcoming trial.
So what was the subject of Jesus’ prayer? It was for Peter to not lose his faith as a result of the trial. That shows me that Jesus was not really concerned with Peter’s performance during the trial he was about to face. He didn’t care whether or not Peter “passed with flying colors”. He didn’t tell Peter “remember WWJD!!” He was solely concerned with Peter’s faith remaining intact throughout the trial and afterward.
Why?
Well, when you think about it, the battle that Peter was engaged in wasn’t really about how well he was going to perform during the test he was to face. No – the battle was for Peter’s faith. If Satan could take his faith from him, then he knew he would win the battle for Peter. The same goes for us. Our battles aren’t really limited to each test that comes our way through life. They are just skirmishes designed to make us lose the real battle for our faith.
When we enter into trials that test our faith, we must remember that the trial is not the real battleground. These trials come our way as Satan’s attempt to try to destroy our faith. If he can destroy our faith, he wins US! Remember the verse in Hebrews 11:6:
And without faith it is impossible to please Him…(NASB)
But there is more to this episode between Jesus and Peter than just not losing our faith during our trials. The real beauty of Jesus’ prayer is this…It doesn’t matter how many times we fail a trial, as long as we keep our faith, we still win!! If we fail every single trial from the day we become a Christian until the day we die – but we retain our faith – we are still the winners! You see, God is big enough, and merciful enough, to take all of our failures and make something positive of them.
That can’t be right – How does that work!? It’s really simple when you think about it. Our experience with God is not based on our works. The Bible says that our righteousness is as filthy rags. But every time we fail, Jesus’ righteousness is right there to cover up the mistakes. So, through our faith, Jesus never sees our failures and never holds them against us, even if we never get a single trial right. Wow – That must really burn Satan (no pun intended).!!
In my mind, even though these are not the recorded words of Jesus, this is what I think His prayer meant – “Peter, I don’t care if you screw up the trial that is coming. It doesn’t matter – If that happens, my blood and righteousness will cover your failure. But in order for that to occur, you have to keep your faith. Don’t get down on yourself and don’t lose your faith”.
Not sure about you, but with my track record, I like having that kind of reassurance to live with.
© Gregory M. Watson, 2008 (see Copyright Page for details)
