“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Luke 22:31-32 (KJV)
What a beautiful thing to have the Lord Himself pray for you! It definitely supersedes the prayer any mortal can offer for you on Earth. No matter how many night vigils I keep in praying for you or for myself, it cannot be quantified with one single prayer that Jesus Christ Himself offers for us.
Of course this does not in any way undermine God’s expectation of us as believers to pray for one another. It is very effective. We are called to a life of prayer. In fact, some are endowed with the ministry assignment of intercession. Pray we must! We must not be lazy in prayer neither should we fail in our ministry of intercession because we will definitely give account one day!
Peter was a very strong and vocal disciple of Jesus, yet he had a need that he himself did not know about. The enemy would have sifted him thoroughly but Jesus who sees all things intervened in his matter and prayed for Him. No matter how strong or feeble anyone of us is in the faith, we all need Jesus’ help and intervention!
But as I was reading through a friend’s page on her birthday a couple of days ago and another friend commented by saying, “The Lord will pray for you by Himself”, that statement hit me like a bolt! I could imagine Jesus Christ praying for a beloved disciple of His (one of whom I am by His grace). It sent me praying! I said “Lord, please pray for me.” I really didn’t need to beg Jesus to pray for me. He is forever doing that (Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
Today, however, I felt like mentioning it to Him because of the way I was touched by that statement.
Jesus Christ knows every details of our lives; where we need Him most; He knows our shortcomings; He knows where we’re hurting; He knows the dangers that loom around us and how vulnerable we are; He knows our cares and worries; He knows our heart cries and weakness; He knows us better when we are overwhelmed; He knows our strengths and high points; He knows all about us! I am more assured of success and victory in this journey of faith through life because Jesus prays for me.
I had to come to a point in my life where, whether a word of prayer is offered directly or indirectly for me by any mortal man no longer matters much because man may fluctuate. A person who hails you today may insult you tomorrow. However, if you do pray for me, I appreciate that and I thank you. Please do more of that, especially as my birthday comes up this week (23rd February) (smiles), but if Jesus (the Shepherd of my soul prays for me) I am a fulfilled woman!
What an assurance to know that the Lord prays for me and He prays for you! Whatever you are going through, whether you know about it or not like Peter, please be rest assured that Jesus is praying for you. He may burden the hearts of believers in various places on Earth to stand in the gap for you, let your mind however be at rest that He knows and cares about you! He prays for you (and me) so that you (and I) will not fail and so that you (and I) can fulfil purpose. Oh! What love!
He will not let you fail, fall or falter!
May you (and I) continue to receive the divine intervention of Jesus’ intercession in our lives and affairs. Amen!
©Funmi Adebayo
N.B My journaling materials need a touch up! If in any way you wish to be a blessing to my journaling ministry (especially as my birthday falls within this week) may I let you know that I need a new writing material in the form of a MAC NOTEBOOK, IPAD OR A GALAXY TAB A (smiles). God bless you!