Jesus told Simon Peter that satan demanded permission to sift him like wheat, but He prayed for Him that His faith will not fail, and when returns, he should strengthen the brethren.
God is so wonderful; the devil cannot touch any of His true children without his permission. The only way that the devil can touch believers is if they have sin in their lives. 1John 5:18. When you walk in purity of heart, when you are upright before the Lord; the devil cannot touch you. God's presence in you is like fire. Heb 1:7. Satan has to ask permission from God to touch you. The story of Job teaches that there are three hedges around us. Job 1:10. One around the individual, another around to their families, and another around their property. There is absolutely nothing that the devil can do against a true child of God, that is why he tempts us so that we can give him access to our lives through sin. See Eph 4:27. When you sin, you have invited the devil to destroy your life, family, ministry and property. Ecc 10:8 says that those who break over a wall, the serpent shall bite them. As long as you are within the wall, the boundary that God has set for your life and ministry, the devil cannot bite you, but the moment you got outside your boundary through sin or even in a ministry God has given to someone else, you allow the devil to access your life. Learn to stay within your boundaries. Learn contentment and that will do you go. Don't go beyond the boundaries God has set for your life and the devil cannot touch you if you keep yourself from sin.
Jesus encouraged Peter by telling him that he prayed for him. This statement can encourage many and is a good way also to encourage others, say to your brother or sister, I will pray for you if you have nothing else to say to them or when they are facing challenges or temptations in their lives.
It's interesting to see that Jesus didn't pray that Peter wouldn't deny Him but that His faith would not fail. The reason is because Peter was proud. He boasted of how he was even willing to die with Christ. He thought he was strong enough without God's help and God had to break him to show the corruption of his own flesh, that nothing good dwelt in his flesh. Rom 7:18. This is a lesson that God tries to teach His children but unfortunately He doesn't succeed in most of us. We are so proud and arrogant and think that Gods work depends on us and our strategies but it doesn't. God has to break the pride in us so that we will never lift our heads or take credit of anything God does through us. God has to show us that at our best we'll accomplish nothing of eternal value but when we are completely surrendered to Him, He can accomplish much through us. Have you learnt the lesson? If you have, you will never murmur or complain about anything, and you wouldn't be getting offended. The reason we get offended is because we think we are somebodies. God has to show us that us that no matter what we have accomplished in life, we still are nobodies and God is everything. Gal 6:3., 1Cor 3:7.
He prayed that His faith would not fail. Even after denying Jesus, that Peter would still believe that God supremely loves him and that God have not stopped loving him though he failed God and that God is still willing to welcome him back and start all over again. Even you, even if you have failed God numerous times, He still loves you and still is waiting to welcome you back. He still has good plans for you and can still accomplish something through your life if you come back to Him and surrender everything to Him. Will you come back to God? He still loves you though you have failed a million times. Come back to your Father's house.
You will be an encouragement to others who have failed.
You are blessed to be a blessing
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@Blessed Mshindi Mambo
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