31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you
as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when
you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22
NKJV)
Who would have ever thought that Jesus would
have let the devil have any of His followers? Judas was allowed to be tempted
by the devil just as Peter was. What is the difference between the two men that
Jesus prayed for the one and yet there is no indication in Scripture that He
prayed for Judas. It could be there was a difference in the men’s hearts.
God knew from the beginning that Judas would
be Christ’s betrayer. He planned it that way. Predestined you may ask. No;
foreknowledge. Just because God knows who will do what does not mean He makes
them do it. The only predestination God tells us about is that we all have been
predestined to be like His Son. Some disregard their God given choice and
choose poorly.
Does Jesus pray for us? Of course He does.
Does He allow Satan to tempt us? Of course He does. From the beginning God has
allowed man to be tempted by Satan. Jesus was as well. Jesus overcame the
temptations and thereby has the authority to intercede for us. He took our place on the Cross and He takes
our place in temptations; if we are willing to let Him. If we have never
accepted Him as our Savior we cannot expect Him to be our intercessor in
temptation.
How about you today? Are you tempted beyond
measure? Can you not seem to shake that one temptation that you always give
into? Could it be that you have never allowed Christ to intercede for your sins? Kneel at the Cross first then you will be able to stand in the face of
temptation. Then you can give encouragement to someone else that needs it to
overcome.