Is Satan Sifting You?

How do you know if Satan is sifting you? What do I mean by sifting? In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus says:

"And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

After reading these verses, there are 3 important things to point out. 

1. If you are a disciple (follower) of Christ, Satan will ask to sift you. What's even more mind-blowing, is that Satan will call you by name in front of God. He will ask specifically for Heather Hall and if you are a child of God, he will ask for you by name, too. Rest assured, Satan has to ask for permission from God before he is able to do anything. Remember Satan asking God for permission to take everything away from Job in chapter 1 and 2? Whether he likes it or not, he HAS to ask for permission to do anything. Why? God is God. He is Master over Satan and Satan knows it so well, that he makes a trip to God's throne to get permission to do anything. It should bring us joy knowing that God is still and always will be in control.

2. Jesus prays for you and I. Odd to think about it, isn't it? Shouldn't we be the only ones praying to God, especially since Jesus and God are One in the same? According to the above verse, Jesus prays to His Father, God, asking that God would keep Simon Peter's faith from failing. Don't doubt for one second, that Jesus doesn't pray for you either. He loves you so much that he brings your name to His lips and lifts you to God. Sounds beautiful, doesn't it? Can you imagine your name being spoken in Heaven right now as you read this? Imagine it this way:

* It is gloriously sunny, children are running around playing and laughing, rivers are flowing, Angels are singing and Jesus turns to His Father and says: "Father, I bring ______ to You. Father, I pray that You will give ______ strength and I ask that You keep ______'s faith from failing as we know that Satan is asking to sift _____. May You be glorified. Amen." 

3. Because Jesus knew that Simon Peter would deny Him thrice, before Simon even denied Him, Jesus gives him advice: "And when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." Jesus knew that Peter would weep bitterly and repent of what he had done. He also knew that after his repentance, it would make him a stronger disciple. Isn't that encouraging to us? How many times have you been through trial after trial only to come out more on fire than ever? Same thing applied to Simon after. Not once is it recorded after his repentance did he deny Christ again. In fact, he was so bold and brazen about his devotion to Christ, that he was crucified (upside down) for Christ because he wouldn't deny Him again. 

Do you feel like you've been sifted? Good news! You officially belong to God and His Kingdom! Keep heart and don't lose faith. No matter what Satan asks to do to us, Jesus will always pray for us, asking His Father to uphold us. Keep heart, we will all be going Home soon!