“”Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.””
Luke 22:31-32 ESV
Are you in need of a personal revival? In today’s verse we witness a downward spiral in the life of Peter. If you know much about Peter, he was a man who was one of the first to follow Jesus as a disciple. He was one that was in the inner circle of Jesus with James and John. He spoke boldly for Christ and was zealous for the things of God. But what we see in Luke 22:31-35 is that Jesus was preparing Peter for what was about to take place.
In verse 33, “Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.”” Then Jesus said, “Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.””
As Jesus predicted, so it was. Through the night, before Jesus was to be crucified, Peter denied knowing Jesus thee times and just as the rooster crowed he realized he had failed. So what could have caused Peter’s faith to fail so fast?
Fear caused Peter to be sifted like wheat. Satan went full force against the one who boldly stated he would die for Jesus. But when Peter was faced with possibly going to prison or dying, he caved under the pressure. He was strong in self-confidence but weak in faith.
We must be strong in our faith. We can only be strong in faith when we are close to Jesus. When we put Jesus away or put him in the back seat we allow our faith to weaken. A personal revival increases our faith in Jesus. It sets our soul on fire for the things of Jesus. How long has it been since you’ve experienced a personal revival?
Lord, I need you to revive my soul and set me on fire. Help me to be a powerful witness for you.
