But I have Prayed!

And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon!  Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  BUT I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."  (Luke 22:31-32, NKJV)

I don’t know about you, but the more I look at this verse, the more encouraging it becomes to me!  I know that it can seem negative at first glance since Satan is after Peter and actively trying to scheme against him.  What was the devil afraid of?  He was afraid of what God put inside Peter and which was coming out of Peter.  If he could only separate Peter from those things, it would prevent God’s plans from progressing in the earth.

Let’s not dwell on that - let us instead dwell on the fact that Jesus stood in the gap between the enemy and one of His friends!  Jesus, the Son of God who came to earth with the most important mission that anyone ever had, stopped what He was doing in that moment to stand up for Peter and every good thing that God put in him.

Jesus was confident that His prayer was heard by the Father and that Peter was going to walk in the results of the positive outcome which Jesus already prayed out!  Jesus knew that His prayer meant something and that it had already accomplished the desired outcome.  Jesus could boldly say, "BUT I HAVE PRAYED!"  He was so confident of the outcome that He gave Peter instructions about the next steps for His life once the devil had failed.

A prayer of intercession allows us to connect with God and to give Him access to work in the lives of others.  Jesus is our model and what He did we should also do.  We are expected to stand in the gap between the enemy and those we are protecting.  We are expected as a church to protect the things of God that are contained in others.  If Jesus was so confident that His prayers would produce results, we should be too!  How often do you see a situation, and say “BUT I HAVE PRAYED!”?  Prayer is either completely useless, or one of the most powerful things that we can do as believers to change the world.

I remember a time when my sister and brother-in-law were believers but not walking with the Lord as they should.  I started praying the Ephesians 1:16-19 prayer for them and I kept holding onto that prayer.  Months later, I remember the day when I found that they had started reading their Bibles and had made some decisions to walk closer to Him.  At that moment the Lord brought me back to the very first time that I started praying for them!  They are now faithful members of GoChurch Beirut with a full-time ministry calling on their lives that they are stepping into!

I also remember praying for my dad for years before he was born again.  I held 3

Scriptures up to the Lord concerning him and his life and kept praying.  Finally, years later, I can gladly say that he is born again and water baptised!  All believers should be able to say: “The devil had his plans, BUT I HAVE PRAYED!”  The devil always has his plans, but we are assigned to pray and protect the things of God in ourselves and in other people.

Ask yourself:

• Have I been praying as though I believe that God always hears me?”
• Who am I constantly standing up for in prayer?
• Have I been spending time looking beyond myself in prayer?

What things do I need to start consistently praying about until I see the results?