But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not, х Egoo (G1473) de (G1161) edeeetheen (G1189) peri (G4012) sou (G4675) hina (G2443) mee (G3361) ekleipee (G1587) hee (G3588) pistis (G4102) sou (G4675)]. Here again, it is not, "I have, prayed for thee," but 'I prayed regarding thee.' The "I" too is emphatic: q.d., 'While Satan was soliciting and obtaining you all to sift you as wheat, I was engaged in praying regarding thee-as in greater danger than all the rest-that thy faith fail not; and when the transaction between God and SATAN was completed by your being, every one of you, given over for sifting purposes into the enemy's hand, the transaction between God and ME about thee, Peter, was a completed one too-for Me the Father heareth always.' Such is the import of these pregnant words of Jesus. But all this was not fully expressed. So far from that, it is not improbable that a misapprehension of what, our Lord meant by Peter's faith not "failing" helped to bolster him up in his false security. What, then, did our Lord mean by this? Not, certainly, that Peter's faith might not give way at all, or to any extent; for in that sense it did fail, and that foully enough. Clearly His prayer was that Peter's faith might not utterly fail-altogether give way-or perish. How near it came to that, and how it only stopped short of that, the sequel affectingly showed. See the note at Luke 22:62.
And when thou art converted (brought back afresh as a penitent disciple), strengthen thy brethren - `fortify them against like falls by holding up to them thine own bitter experience.'