Interception through prayer
I love how this verse oozes with grace and redemption. You feel a tiny twinge of pity for Peter; after all, Satan did ask if he could mess with him. Of course, Peter has free will like the rest of us and made his choice. But Jesus says Peter will recover. His short-term denial of Christ - the man who has mentored him for 3 years, the man who has become his best friend - will end in strength. Peter will become the disciples' rock to which his name translates.
Why? Because Peter realizes the error of his ways? Because his conscience suddenly kicks in on the third time? Maybe.
But maybe something more.
I noticed something I hadn't paid attention to before (or simply didn't take into account here). It's so incredibly subtle and, at the same time, so incredibly obvious. Before Jesus told Peter he'd recover, and even before he acknowledged that Peter would deny him multiple times, Jesus shared something else. Did you catch it?
Jesus prayed for him.
Long before Peter would deny Christ, before he would even make the decision to screw up, his sin was forgiven and redemption was poured out. The outcome of Peter's trial was on Jesus' heart, and Jesus prayed for victory.
We hang our heads in shame because we don't think God could love us after what we've done. We don't think we're good enough to be Jesus' friend. But God knows what we are about to do before we do & still loves us. Jesus can't wait to meet you ... every morning, every moment of every day, for the rest of your life.
Inevitably, we will all screw up somewhere. We will deny (deny, deny) that we need help. We also know when to say "when," when to turn toward God & recover what we lost. All along, he's been praying.
Victory. Victory. Victory.
Created about 1 year ago
