In the sieve?

("Borrowed" from 'Jesus The One and Only' workbook by Beth Moore, Week 9, Day 3)

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift 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

Christ seemed to be singling him out as a leader in Luke 22:31 as He directed the statement concerning all the disciples (plural "you") to Peter: "'Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift [all of] you [disciples] as wheat.'" Very likely, Christ thought that Peter, as a leader among the disciples, could either take the extra heat or needed the extra heat. I have a hunch both apply. Please be encouraged that Satan can't just presume to sift a believer like wheat. I believe this New Testament precedent suggests he must acquire permission from Christ. (Compare Job 1) Christ will not grant the devil permission to do anything that can't be used for God's glory and our good - if we let it.

I'd also like to believe, based on the same precedent, that if Christ gives the enemy a little extra leash where we're concerned, He prays for us. The word for prayed in Luke 22:32 is deomai, meaning "to make one's need known." This particular word for prayer involves the petition for what one lacks. I don't think Christ's petition for Peter's need referred only to what he needed to be victorious in this sifting season. I believe Christ saw that this sifting season itself was something Peter needed.

Although I can think of many things, humility as a servant of God and alertness as a target of the enemy most readily come to my mind. Peter was a natural leader and might have led in the flesh...if he were not taught its terrible weakness and danger. In about 51 days, Chris would transform him into a powerhouse among the disciples (see Acts 2). He needed a crash course only a fierce sifting could supply.

...Being sifted like wheat is not your regular brand of temptation. It's an all-out onslaught by the enemy to destroy you and cause you to quit. It surfaces what you detest most in yourself and reveals the ugliness of self. Not everyone has or needs such an experience.

...The method of sifting wheat is to put it through a sieve and shake it until the chaff, little stones, and perhaps some tares surface. The purpose is that the actual grain can be separated and ground into meal. You see, Satan's goal in sifting is to make us a mockery by showing us to be all chaff and no wheat. Christ, on the other hand, permits us to be sifted to shake out the real from the unreal, the trash from the true. The wheat that proves usable is authentic grain from which Christ can make bread.

(How did Peter fare from his sifting?):

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5:6-11