I Have Prayed for You

Jesus, hours before His arrest and crucifixion tells Peter, of his coming failure. This revelation was sobering. It was followed however by the statement, “I have prayed for you ... and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:32). 

 At that moment, Jesus gave Peter the incredible gift of hope, in the face of failure. Peter’s natural strength would not be enough. He would buckle under pressure and deny the very One who loved him. Jesus however revealed that on the other side of his failure, was strength. “Pete the denier,” would become “Peter the strengthener.” Peter, who would run from the questions of a slave girl, would stand before the questioning of a city. 

Jesus does not expect our perfection – He gave us His. There are times when we fail and disappoint ourselves and others. It is then that we need to know that we’re still welcomed and loved. When our strength fails, God’s love does not fail. What the devil meant for evil, God will turn for good. On the other side of failure, is the strength to help those, who also fail. When we turn to Him, we will help others defeat the very thing that caused our downfall. 

 When we are so low that we cannot look up, when sorrow silences our prayers, when our failures have overwhelmed us and condemnation weighs us down, remember, there is One who declares, “I have prayed for you.”