“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32).

Peter, called Simon here, was certain that he would never deny the Lord. He couldn’t see his own potential for failure. That is so much the case for us. Our good intentions sometimes mask our weaknesses. Peter was devastated when, under pressure, he denied knowing Jesus. We, too, can be crushed by our own failures. However, Jesus wasn’t surprised by Peter’s weakness and had already made provision for his restoration. “I have prayed for you.”

I can’t express how many times that simple statement has reassured me. There is an interesting picture in the original language of this phrase. Jesus said, “I have prayed ‘peri’ you.” “Peri” is a Greek preposition that we can picture in its use in our word, perimeter. The picture it supplies is a circle. Jesus was saying to Peter, “I have encircled you with prayer.” There was no avenue of attack against Peter that was not protected by Jesus’ prayer.

That prayer worked! Jesus didn’t say, “If you turn back” but He said, “When you turn back.” Then He made certain that Peter would continue his ministry on the other side of his failure. “Strengthen your brothers.”

For those of us who come up short in our weakness there is unfailing hope. Jesus sees what is coming, surrounds us with prayer, knows that our faith will not fail and reassures us of our continued value. The key to Peter’s life, and ours, isn’t our perfect performance but the grace of our Lord who prays for us and won’t let our faith fail. It’s wonderful to know that Jesus has our tomorrows surrounded by His prayer for us.