10/21/2019
Do you need prayer for your faith right now? Are you suffering doubt, or find yourself silent in your belief? Maybe you are loudly proclaiming a faith that is more like the skin of an apple than it’s sweet flesh beneath. Do you need prayer for your faith at this moment, and are you uncertain who will pray for you? In seasons such as this Jesus prays for us, and if our faith is the least bit evident, we obey Him, and pray for those around us who might be struggling in their faith.
“but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."”
Luke 22:32 ESV
Just prior to this verse, Jesus had revealed to Peter that Satan wanted to sift him like wheat, and it should have been a terrifying revelation for him, but it wasn’t. Peter should have asked Jesus for help, but in that moment of impending challenge he overestimated his own faith, and felt ready to stand against the lord of darkness. He responded to Jesus with these words...
“Peter said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death."”
Luke 22:33 ESV
Peter needed the prayers of our Savior, and yet he felt that his faith was ready to take on Satan’s sifting. In our own lives we have experienced such bravado as well. How many times have you responded to a parent, a teacher, or to God, with the phrase “I can do this!”, or “I’ve got this!”, only to find that you needed their help after all? We are such overconfident creatures; not because of our successes, but because we are too ignorant to see our weaknesses... Peter went on to deny that he even knew Jesus three times before the cock had crowed.
“But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about." And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.”
Luke 22:60-62 ESV
Are you weeping today like Peter? Do you know enough about your own faith to realize that you need Jesus to pray for you? Are you receiving the prayers of your fellow believers, and are you praying for your own brothers and sisters in Christ so that their faith might be strengthened, and they be delivered from evil? The Lord’s Prayer is not a singular prayer, but is prayed in plural that we should all receive its benefit... including our being delivered from evil. Does it surprise you that this prayer conforms with the request that Jesus made of us... that we should strengthen our brothers?
“Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:9-13 ESV
When one of your children tells you “I can do this!” what do you do? Do you say “Wonderful!” And walk away? No, you stay close by, and watch over them as they attempt whatever it is that they are so confident in , and you remain near enough to step in when they fail, and a lesson needs to be taught. Jesus did this with a simple look, and the lesson was not lost on Peter. One of the most interesting parts of this lesson is that Jesus was praying for Peter’s faith before he even knew he was about to experience a failure. Jesus knew Peter like we know our children, and He prayed for him without waiting for him to experience the failure, so that ultimately his faith would succeed. Do we pray for the faith of our brothers and sisters every day? Do we ask that they not be tempted, and be protected from evil... even as Jesus prayed for Peter, and Paul prayed for others, like the Colossians?
“just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”
Colossians 1:7-9 ESV
Jesus prays for our faith today, and we are to pray for those around us. We are to pray before a failure presents itself because this isn’t a salvage operation in which we attempt to raise a sunken ship, but a rescue event so that the ship never sinks in the first place. Peter denied Christ, but he didn’t lose his faith. Our ship might face such a storm, but when our prayers, and the prayers of our fellow believers, are joined with those of Jesus, the ship that is our faith remains afloat.
So there is someone right now that needs prayer for their faith, and perhaps it is you. There is someone who is experiencing doubt, or is too timid to reveal their faith, and who needs prayer, and maybe that is you too. Then again, there might be someone who boldly touts their faith as Peter did, but finds it is nothing more than the skin of an apple with no tasty meat underneath... could this be you? Maybe, just maybe, your faith is strong enough to stand alone, but I doubt that. We all need prayer for our faith, and to find strength in it. Each of us sails the ocean of life, and faces the many storms there. At some point, every one of our ships will find itself in need of rescue... no matter how great our confidence when we leave port. We all need to seek help in sustaining, and increasing, our faith.
“And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"”
Mark 9:23-24 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus who prays for us, and for our fellow believers who also pray for us today. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that gives us the words to pray when we are at a loss, and who teaches us how to increase our faith by giving us a heightened understanding of your Word. Thank you for The Lord’s Prayer that instructs us, and leads us in intercession for every brother and sister in Christ who needs protection from temptation, evil, and a renewed strength of faith. Hear our voices as we lift each other up to you, and pray for one another’s faith. Help us in our unbelief Father, and in our moments of doubt help us by these many prayers, that we might find our feet on the solid ground of a deep and abiding faith built up beneath them. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you whose Son was sent to redeem us, and to pray for us in our moments of faithful weakness. Great are you who knows our hearts, and loves us, even in the instant of our challenge, and doubt. Wonderful is your mercy, and magnificent your grace. Hear our voices as we call out to you. Saying... “help my unbelief”, and know our confidence, and trust in your response.
Rich Forbes