As an encouragement for the new year, recall that Jesus made a promise in the face of the blackest of nights.
The very night He was betrayed, Jesus promised that He had prayed that His disciples' faith fail not.
Jesus addressed His promise directly to Simon Peter, but His use of the plural showed the promise was for all His people.
Satan had desired to destroy Peter in the next 48 hours, as Jesus was taken out and murdered by His enemies.
But Jesus had already prayed for Peter, that Peter's faith would not fail.
The disciples were about to be tried in a way that no other believers have ever been tried, before or since. The Messiah that they had trusted in was going to be destroyed by wicked rulers and priests.
They would see, or so they supposed, their whole hope come crashing down at Calvary. How could Jesus save anybody if He is dead?
All their hopes of a political savior would be broken. The One they had believed seemed to them to be defeated in the end.
But Jesus had prayed for them, that their faith fail not.
No doubt Jesus addressed Peter directly because, of all the disciples, Peter seemed the most self-confident. He was, as the saying goes, "often wrong, but never in doubt!"
Peter had great confidence in the famous "water walking incident," but then his faith failed, and Jesus lifted him up from the waves.
After Peter had pronounced that Jesus is Messiah, the Son of God, he then went on to rebuke Jesus for His promise to die and rise again.
And on the night of betrayal, Peter expressed confidence that Jesus was wrong, that he, Peter, would never betray the Savior.
In all these ways, Peter failed, but Jesus' prayer did not! |
