What happens when Christians fail and how God helps us
It is true, that Christians fail sometimes, but what is not well-known is that Jesus in Heaven is praying for you because he is the prayer warrior.
I’m not talking about pseudo-Christians who are in name only.
God is committed to getting true, humble, Jesus-believing Christians through life and to heaven in glory with Him.
Jesus is a successful Prayer Warrior and he is praying for us to overcome all our obstacles.
Table of Contents:
1. Who is the greatest prayer warrior?
We may have heard of these historic prayer warriors, like Francis of Assisi, Brother Lawrence, John of the Cross, Brother Roger, George Whitefield, John Wesley and George Muller. 1
(See an old film of John Wesley’s life at the bottom of this page).
But I think you will be amazed at who THE Prayer Warrior is.
It is very surprising when and how Jesus prays and also the results.
(This is the third article on Jesus the High Priest.)
2. Jesus prays so we are saved completely
In Hebrews, it tells us that Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through Him.
That is quite an amazing statement – no half-measures, he really is a prayer warrior!
But how is that achieved?
There were many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office.
Hebrews 7:23 NIV
But because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.
Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”
Jesus is eternal – He always lives to pray for His people, to intercede for them.
That is difficult for us to get our heads around that – the Son of God in heaven is praying to God the Father for us – right now!
Okay, Jesus is able to save us completely because He is praying.
That is a bold, faith-creating statement.
And here is another one:
3. God is working on our salvation
That means that God is doing the work and is getting us to heaven. (That does not mean that we do not play our part, see ‘The Holy Spirit and living a godly life‘.
Those He predestined, He also called;
Romans 8:30 NIV
those He called, He also justified;
those He justified, He also glorified.”
There are no ifs and buts in that statement.
He, GOD, saves completely and those who are saved will be with Him in heaven – in Glory.
It is a rock-solid statement.
Why? Because Jesus always lives to intercede for them.
To intercede means to plead and pray for another person.
4. Certain names are written on the High Priest’s chest
Now, the High Priest in the Temple went into the sanctuary with only the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on his chest:
Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen…
Exodus 28:6, 8-9, 15 & 21 NIV
Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel in the order of their birth – six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other…
Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions…
There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
(For further reading see the Jewish website:)
The breastplate (choshen) was one of the eight priestly garments worn by the high priest (kohen gadol) when serving in the Holy Temple.
‘The High Priest’s Breastplate (Choshen)’
It featured twelve precious stones, corresponding to the 12 tribes of Israel, and served as a medium through which G‑d provided direction to the Jewish nation.”
By Yehuda Altein Chabad.org 3
The High Priest’s breastplate is a picture of Jesus in heaven with only the names of those He has chosen before the world’s creation, upon His chest.
And what does that mean ‘on his chest’ it means they are next to His heart.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Ephesians 1:4-6 NIV
In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was crucified He prayed:
I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me.“
John 17:9 NIV
And later in the prayer, He says:
My prayer is not for them alone, [that is His disciples] I pray also for those who will believe in Me, through their message.”
John 17:20 NIV
In these examples, Jesus intercedes only for those who will be saved, so they will be saved completely.
But you could say, what about the times when Jesus prayed for people to get healed when they were not going to get saved?
Yes, God is always giving out His temporal blessings of good things, but Christ’s intercession for His own people is always ongoing, which will cause them to persevere, and in the end, will result in them entering into Glory.
5. Simon Peter failed big time
An example of Christ’s intercession is when He is talking to Simon Peter:
Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
Luke 22:31 NIV
But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.
And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
Well, the sifting time came, and Simon denied the Lord three times.
But, because Jesus had prayed that his faith would not fail, he came back strong in faith, and he was able to preach to a multitude of people on the Day of Pentecost 4, and three thousand people got saved.
Jesus Christ the High Priest, the Prayer Warrior, interceded for Simon Peter and He was able to save Simon completely.
6. Jesus, the Prayer Warrior, is praying for you
He is able to save us completely.
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the fruit of Christ’s intercession. For Jesus said:
I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever – the Spirit of Truth.”
John 14:16 NIV
If God has called you, then Christ the High Priest has died for you, so that the Divine justice is satisfied and the penalty has been paid for.
You are no longer condemned, you’ve come to be one of God’s children.
But also Christ the High Priest continues to pray and intercede for you in heaven, and He never, never, never fails in all that He does.
Jesus Christ is going to save you completely – to bring you to Glory.
He’s given you the Spirit of Truth to live in you, a constant Helper, Counsellor, and source of strength for your life.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
With that in mind, we should follow the writer’s advice:
Therefore holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the Apostle, and High Priest whom we confess.”
Hebrews 3:1 NIV
7. A video of John Wesley’s life:
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More detailed articles covering:
The prophet Jesus is greater than Moses. Jesus the Prophet.
Jesus Speaking Prophet
Jesus as Prophet sees what God sees so what does Jesus want to teach us?
What happens when we think wrong thoughts during our worship, how can that be acceptable worship to a holy God?
The Bible shows us that Jesus is the King of kings, here we look at Psalm 2 which is all about him.
The whole of humanity wants to hide from God, ignore him and rebel against him.
When humanity stands before God there is nowhere to hide from his justice and being found guilty – therefore a Mediator is required.
References and credits – open in new tabs
High Priest image: thanks to The Pictorial Dictionary published by The Educational Book Company, London
’10 Prayer warriors who changed history’ Flowing Faith by Jared Brock 19 June 2015 ↩
The High Priest’s Breastplate (Choshen) image by Sefira Lightstone ↩
‘The High Priest’s Breastplate (Choshen)’
By Yehuda Altein Chabad.org ↩Acts 2:14-40 ↩