"Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you." Luke 22:31-32
In Psalm 50:15, God says, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver You and You will honor Me." Here God tells us to pray. He promises to hear us. And He says plainly that He expects us to acknowledge His help. This we do when we give Him honor and glory.
The "Our Father" of the Lord's Prayer is a daily reminder that we are to pray with and for each other. Actually, we are to offer prayers for all people, not only for the good and gentle but also for all who are in need of prayer: the weak and the strong, the oppressor and the oppressed.
In our text we find that Jesus prayed for His disciple Peter, who had a wavering faith. We too should offer our prayers for the weak, whether the weakness is spiritual, mental, moral, physical, or economic. The fervent prayers of one who is right with God by faith in Christ are effective. Christians are people who give. We offer prayers for the criminal and his victims, for the predator and the prey, for those who feel that they are undeservedly the outcasts of the world, for the unemployed and underemployed, for the overemployed and underpaid, and even for those who, because of injustice, are underemployed yet overpaid.
PRAYER: Lord God, forgive our sins and heal the wounds we cause; in Jesus' name. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Micah 4-5 Acts 21:18-40
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