Luke 22:32.

In view of the great sin into which Peter was so soon to fall (spite of his protestations,) and of what would follow, the Lord tells him He has already prayed for him. This ministry of our Lord carries Peter safely through the dark valley – the result of his sin.

But why this " I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not" and not, I have prayed for thee that thou shouldst not sin f Is it not more to the glory of God that we should not sin than that we should be sustained through the results of sinning? And would we not be much happier if we were kept from sinning from the very moment of our becoming children of God ?

To these questions one has the simple answer, God gets His glory in the way He takes with us, and it will shine out in due time; and our present happiness is not God's highest aim. If we were kept from sinning while in a condition of soul displeasing to God, how could we learn ourselves and increase in the knowledge of God ? Our bad condition of soul breaking out in sin reveals us to ourselves more fully, humbles us and brings us face to face with the riches of the grace of God, not merely in salvation, but also in restoration. We thus learn the value of Christ's ministry, not only in obtaining salvation for us, but also in His present, incessant ministry toward our daily needs in relation to the infinitely holy God to whom we have been brought. Blessed acquaintance with God is thus produced, whose full results are yet to come.

Is it necessary then that we should sin to reach blessed ends ? Surely not. Did we in the power of the Holy Spirit reckon ourselves "dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:11) we would acquire the same end in a quicker and happier way. Ever judging indwelling sin at the root, we would not need to judge its outbreaks. It would be uninterrupted growth.

Be it the easier way, or the more painful one, be we Jacobs or Abrahams, we are moving onward to the time when we shall prove that eternal bliss is but another name for the knowledge of God.