Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have pray for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.

Luke 22:31-32

Christians are the most vulnerable to the devices of the enemy without the Lord. Time and again, we feel so strong in our spiritual assessment, thinking we are impregnable. We know our word and pray a lot. Our resolve is firm after a seven or fourteen-day waiting before the Lord and receiving deep insights from Him. People recognize our spiritual vitality and maturity. They respond with respect and come to us for counseling. When that brother is alleged to be involved in sexual impropriety, who else could they appoint to lead the investigation than us. We breeze through the case without mercy. “How could he do such a thing after the Pastor’s excellent teaching and recent sermon series? And he is not even repentant enough.” So, we recommend the harshest disciplinary action with counseling for three months. The report is accepted by leadership and we go home praising God for laying bare every hidden thing.

Three months later, you travel on business. A meeting lingers and you dine late and alone in the dimly lit hotel restaurant. The lady across from your table sends you an occasional parcel of smiles. You pay no attention at first, but when her motive becomes obvious, you haughtily smile back with your response, “Not me, lady! Go get one of your type.”

The next day, you are on a flight back home, lost in your thoughts. “How did it happen? How can I face my wife today? Do I have the guts to confess it? How will the church react to my shame?”

The fact is that we are very human and weak without our Savior. Until we acknowledge this and humble ourselves under His Sovereign protection and constant intercession for us, we will always fall (Rm. 8:34). Pride is our worst enemy, but unfortunately, our ego doesn’t help. We hardly acknowledge we are swimming in it. Who doesn’t like position and recognition?

But, follow the discourse of Jesus with the disciples at the last supper table, as Dr. Luke tells the story and observe some things. Jesus warned the disciples against the leadership style of the world and rather recommended His servanthood model (Lk. 22:24-30). He then turned and sympathetically addressed Peter: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail” (31-32).

To appreciate the force of Jesus’s statement, walk with me through Peter’s failures after this event. He slept in Gethsemane, cowardly followed the Lord at a distance after His arrest, denied the Lord three times as the Lord predicted, hid through the crucifixion, failed to grasp the resurrection report from the women, and finally went back to his old business. It was all downhill until the Lord intervened and restored him after the fishing fiasco on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias (Jn. 21:15-19). Do you see how worse things could have been for Peter, had it not been for the Lord’s intercessory prayer?

David got it right when he said, “If the Lord had not been on our side – let Israel say … when the enemy attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive…they would have engulfed us, the raging waters would have swept us away” (Ps. 124:1-5).

If the Lord had not been on your side …

Bless His glorious name, somebody!