Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has askedto sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail… Luke 22:31-32b Imagine that! Satan, the father of all that is evil in this world, even he is bound by the power of God. There is nothing that he can do without first asking permission from our Almighty Father… 

Here we see that Satan has “demanded” permission…let’s stop right here and take a closer look at what some of these words actually mean… 

To DEMAND is to ask for urgently. Satan was “urgently” asking for Jesus’ consent to sift Peter like wheat. Sifting is putting something through a sieve or some other straining device in order to separate the fine from the coarse particles. 

Peter was, shall we say, “a coarse particle”…..he was a “shoot first and ask questions later” kinda guy. Satan knew this and his only goal was to sift Peter and to show his true colors. Jesus gave Satan the consent needed to do so. 

The blessing here is that Jesus has basically told Peter not to worry because He has prayed for him…. WOW! Imagine that! Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, the Creator of all that is….He “prayed” for Peter. Why did He do that? So that his (Peter’s) faith would not fail. 

Fast forward to “today”. Did you know that our Lord prays for “you”? Well, ponder this no more….Jesus “does” pray for you, for me and for all of His children. Who can hurt us with that kind of power and protection? 

I look at the trials in my life differently now. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing comes against me that God does not allow…and the best part is that Jesus has and is praying for ME….Why? So that “my” faith will not fail!