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Read: Luke 22:31-34

“I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.”

Luke 22:32

“The devil tempts that he may ruin; God tests that He may crown.”

—St. Ambrose

IN WORD We know that the prayers of the Son of God do not go unanswered. There is no conflict, no separation between the persons of the Trinity. When the incarnate God asks, the enthroned God hears. If Jesus prayed for Simon Peter, Simon Peter is secure. His faith will not fail.

What do we make, then, of Peter’s famous denial? Three times he swore that he did not know Jesus. Three times he lied about the One to whom he had sworn undying allegiance. Wasn’t this a disaster, by any standard of religious affiliation? Didn’t he prove that he was not really devoted to Jesus? Didn’t his faith fail?

No. When Jesus sees our faith, He sees the lifelong process. He sees whether our faith will be proven false by our testing or refined by it. His covenant to strengthen us does not waver with the ups and downs of our circumstances or our moods. When we fall, He knows whether we will get up. He sees the big picture, and in the big picture our momentary faltering does not determine the final outcome. He doesn’t dwell on the toddler who stumbles; He knows us as the mature adult who walks.

IN DEED We tend to dwell on our faltering efforts at faith, remembering well the stumbles and falls we’ve taken along the way to maturity. We should not take them lightly; Jesus did not expect Peter to casually dismiss his denial. But we should not see them as the condition that defines us. Jesus saw Peter’s failure in advance, yet He prayed with confidence and assurance that his faith would not fail. In the final analysis, it did not. And that’s what counts with Jesus.

Do not let your failures define you. They are not how God measures you. In fact, they are how the enemy wants to measure you; that’s why he asks to sift you. Don’t trust his measurement. Trust Jesus. He has prayed for you.