Luke 22:32 AMP
“But I have prayed especially for you, Peter, that your faith and confidence in Me may not fail; and you, once you have turned back again to Me, strengthen and support your brothers in the faith.”
In what is referred to as the Lord’s Supper meal together, Jesus revealed to Peter, one of His closest and most trusted friends, that he would betray Him within just a few hours. Peter would deny that he even knew Jesus, not once – but three times!
Here’s the incredible perspective: Jesus knew, and He prayed for Peter ahead of the betrayal. He prayed not that Peter wouldn’t deny Him, but that he wouldn’t lose trust in Jesus.
He prayed for the ‘Peter’ that would come out of the test on the other side to be used to strengthen the faith of others. Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith be strong in the midst of his failure, and that he would be used to then establish and build up the faith of others.
In the times of our own failings and debacles, we swallow the lie that we are disqualified from serving or representing our Savior. We embrace the enemy’s fraud that we are now unworthy.
Jesus knew the great call on Peter’s life to build His church. He also knew Peter was going to hurt Him by lying about their relationship: utter betrayal. But Jesus’ message to Peter wasn’t “Don’t do this!” His message was, “I know this is going to happen, but I pray you stand strong in your belief in Me as Messiah. And once you’re restored after this experience, make it your life’s mission to establish the faith of others!”
I believe Jesus prays the same way for us today. Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:34 say that Jesus intercedes for us. He continued to use Peter in mighty ways to heal people, to lead people to faith, and to build His Body (Church), even after that failure that has become public so that all can see.
We are no less qualified. Jesus desires that we, too, be restored to Him when we fail. His desire is for us to use those moments of reconciliation as a jumping off platform – not a landing zone. Don’t sit in the grief of your failure, but be stirred to restoration. Then embrace your own assignment in strengthening the faith of others.
1 Peter 5:10
“And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up.”
Psalms 51:12
“Let my passion for life be restored, tasting joy in every breakthrough you bring to me. Hold me close to you with a willing spirit that obeys whatever you say.”
Penny Renfroe is a care pastor at OneChurch in Whitesboro and best-selling author of “Threads of the Father.”