“I Have Prayed for Thee”
I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. Luke 22:32.
To every Christian comes the word that was addressed to Peter, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Luke 22:31, 32). Thank God we are not left alone. This is our safety. Satan can never touch with eternal disaster one whom Christ has prepared for temptation by His previous intercession, for grace is provided in Christ for every soul, and a way of escape has been made, so that no one need fall under the power of the enemy.
Satan is preparing many and strong temptations with which to assail the people of God. He is represented as walking to and fro like a roaring lion, seeking for some unguarded soul whom he may be successful in deceiving through his subtlety, and may finally destroy. We are not safe without Christ for a single step. But what comfort is treasured for us in the words, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not”! Satan does not sift chaff; it is the wheat that he desires to have in his hands. Then let us take courage and pray at all times.
Christ offers our prayers to the Father, mingled with the merit of His sacrifice, and they come up before God as sweet incense. . . . Whenever you are tempted to sin remember that Christ’s eye is upon you, and that Satan desires to have you that he may sift you as wheat. Remember to send your petitions heavenward, and see Jesus making intercession for you. Send up an earnest cry to God, “Lord, save me; I perish,” and you will not be overcome; you will not enter into sin. Take your stand firmly on the words of Paul, and in the strength of Jesus say, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).
That I May Know Him p. 286
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Prayer Requests
—– Thank you for all the wishes and prayers for my father. He is now out of the hospital and residing in a rehab facility where he is making steady progress. He will celebrate his 92 birthday there on Wed. Jack
—–Sandy was admitted to ______ Hospital Monday for renal failure. Please her in prayer. Pray also for Lois who is hospitalized with an infection due to chemo. Rose
—–say prayers that my daughter Michelle’s foot surgery will heal quickly and flawlessly. Ed
—–My only brother will be undergoing a serious back surgery at 10am ET on Thursday. He had an accident a few years back and broke one of his vertebras and 2 of his discs moved out of place and have been compressing the sciatic nerve causing him to suffer from severe pain at times. It has been a long journey for him and it will continue until he is fully recovered from the procedure. I would really appreciate your prayers for the next few weeks but especially on Thursday morning. Thank you! Dani…
——Please pray for Joe to find a good lawyer so he can get his children back from their abusive mother. Also Adrian is getting worse the congestive heart
failure is getting worse and he has been throwing up for the last two days so please pray about that. He has kidney disease and heart problems. Mary
—–Mr. Champion died yesterday afternoon. He was my favorite teacher. He inspired me and most of his other students. We will all miss him but we will never forget him. Please pray for Mrs. Champion and the rest of their family. I pray God will give them peace and joyful memories during this time of loss. Fran
—–update—Aunt Clytee, my moms middle sister, age 81, passed away Saturday night. She was going thru another round of chemo. She had previously had some rare form of blood cancer. My oldest Auntie, and my favorite, is 83. She is fine, except in her email this morning said she wasn’t able to go to the funeral or burial in _____. This concerns me, cause I don’t know if something is now wrong with her. Louise
—–update—–Darryl is OK and going home tomorrow from the hospital. Praise the Lord. Thanks for the prayers. Fran
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Dear Friends,
When my mother and her sister, Joyce, who was four years younger, were children, they used to wait for the ice man to stop by. In those days people still had ice boxes instead of refrigerators and it was common for children to look forward to the ice man’s visit. As the wagon would pull up in front, they were right there to get their treat. The ice man would always take a pick and chop off a small piece of ice for each of them. They would enjoy its coldness on a hot summer day.
One day Joyce was walking past the fire station. On the ground was a small chunk of ice. Joyce stopped and looked at it. As this ice melted in the summer sun, it gave off a cloud of vapor. Joyce was fascinated. She had never seen ice quite like this before. One of the firemen, winking at the others, asked, “Would you like that piece of ice?”
Joyce was very happy and quickly picked it up and licked it. As soon as her tongue made contact with that dry ice, it stuck fast. Frightened, the child pulled and pulled. She couldn’t get free. What terrible pain! She looked at the men for help, but they were laughing heartily. What a cruel trick to play on an innocent child.
Joyce ran home to her mother, who managed to remove that frozen carbon dioxide from her tongue. However, part of the surface of her tongue stayed on that offending ice. Poor Joyce spent many days in pain. My grandmother was livid with rage and stomped down to that fire station and let those men know in no uncertain terms how cruel they were.
How often others urge us to try something “just once.” The sinful practice looks harmless and attractive to us just as that dry ice looked like regular ice to my aunt so long ago. Soon, we are convinced that it is safe to “lick” it just once, but that “just once” can start us on a lifetime of bondage. That “just once” becomes a strong enemy. That “just once” can cause excruciating pain and bring ruin to our lives. We look to our “friends” for help, but they cannot help us, they are amused at our suffering or they are as bound as we are and as helpless to overcome.
How vital to our present and future happiness that we shut our ears to the enemy or his agents whispered temptations. How important to daily pray, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.” Ps 141:3,4 We must do as Paul advises, “flee from idolatry.” “Flee fornication.” “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up;” “follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called.” 1 Cor 10:14; 6:18; James 4:7-101 Tim 6:11.12
May we come to our Great Deliverer and pray as did David, “Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. 0 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. Ps 143:9-11 “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight….Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow….Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise….” Ps 51 May we daily open our heart’s door to Him that He may keep us from falling. (Rev 3:18-21; Jude 24) May we allow Him not only to cleanse us from all sin, but to allow Him to lead us all the way to His Glorious Kingdom where there will be no tempters or temptations is my prayer.
Rose