Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Revelation 8:3-4 tells us that “the prayers of all saints” are “before the throne” of God. This assured destination of our supplications before our Almighty God is most encouraging, for it decrees that our intercession defeats the devil (who is decidedly real). In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Thus, Satan would be defeated in his attempt to control Simon Peter. Moreover, Peter would be so strong in his faith that he would help to subdue Satan’s power in the lives of his fellow disciples. As we draw nearer to the promised events of the book of Revelation, I Peter 4:7 comes to mind: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” Later in this epistle, we are commanded, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8). Peter then follows his own Spirit-inspired counsel and prays, “But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (I Peter 5:10-11). Yes, our Savior God has dominion over the devil. Let us be confident that our prayers are part of this certain defeat of Satan.