THE THEME OF JESUS' PRAYER
Oh, Simon, Simon, do you know that Satan has asked to have you all to sift like wheat?--But I have prayed for you that you may not lose your faith. Yes, when you have turned back to me, you must strengthen these brothers of yours. Luke 22:31, 32, Phillips.
How easy it is for us to pray amiss! We earnestly plead for God to bless the missionaries across the seas, while we neglect the needs of our neighbor next door. We ask for more money, while our prior need is to learn how to manage what money we have.
When Jesus prayed, however, His briefly stated concerns went right to the basic issues. The prayer for Peter that is recorded in today's text reveals such sensitive understanding. He knew that Peter would not make it through the night--that before the sun would rise on a new day, he would have vehemently denied his Lord three times. For Peter's sake, Jesus wanted to report the theme of His prayer; it contained the avenue of his recovery.
Peter was about to face an aspect of the Messiah's ministry that simply did not fit in his script. His vision of Jesus as the military conqueror and national deliverer was about to be nailed to an ugly cross. And Peter's narrowly based faith would die with Him. It is a crisis that all of Jesus' fragile-faithed friends will have to face eventually. All of us who have believed in Jesus because of what He can do for us, who have staked our confidence on our small vision of Him, will face a crash similar to Peter's.
Jesus knows better than to prevent that crash. He knows that immature, self-centered faith is too small for the great issues of life and salvation, and that it must die to give way to new understandings. So He tenderly walks with us through our Calvary, in order that when immature faith goes through its death throes, we can remember the heart of the One who looked Peter in the eye with great compassion even as he was swearing his denials. We can remember who He is and, remembering, we can return to Him.
The theme of Jesus' prayer was that Peter would return to Him. Rather than be disappointed that Jesus did not measure up to his own miniature expectations, Peter's faith needed to grow up. This is the kind of faith that Jesus prayed would not fail.
Oh, Simon, Simon, do you know that Satan has asked to have you all to sift like wheat?--But I have prayed for you that you may not lose your faith. Yes, when you have turned back to me, you must strengthen these brothers of yours. Luke 22:31, 32, Phillips.
How easy it is for us to pray amiss! We earnestly plead for God to bless the missionaries across the seas, while we neglect the needs of our neighbor next door. We ask for more money, while our prior need is to learn how to manage what money we have.
When Jesus prayed, however, His briefly stated concerns went right to the basic issues. The prayer for Peter that is recorded in today's text reveals such sensitive understanding. He knew that Peter would not make it through the night--that before the sun would rise on a new day, he would have vehemently denied his Lord three times. For Peter's sake, Jesus wanted to report the theme of His prayer; it contained the avenue of his recovery.
Peter was about to face an aspect of the Messiah's ministry that simply did not fit in his script. His vision of Jesus as the military conqueror and national deliverer was about to be nailed to an ugly cross. And Peter's narrowly based faith would die with Him. It is a crisis that all of Jesus' fragile-faithed friends will have to face eventually. All of us who have believed in Jesus because of what He can do for us, who have staked our confidence on our small vision of Him, will face a crash similar to Peter's.
Jesus knows better than to prevent that crash. He knows that immature, self-centered faith is too small for the great issues of life and salvation, and that it must die to give way to new understandings. So He tenderly walks with us through our Calvary, in order that when immature faith goes through its death throes, we can remember the heart of the One who looked Peter in the eye with great compassion even as he was swearing his denials. We can remember who He is and, remembering, we can return to Him.
The theme of Jesus' prayer was that Peter would return to Him. Rather than be disappointed that Jesus did not measure up to his own miniature expectations, Peter's faith needed to grow up. This is the kind of faith that Jesus prayed would not fail.
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