Jesus’ prayer for Peter shows the same pattern in sharp relief. Satan partially got his way with Peter, sifting him like wheat. But in answer to Jesus’ prayer, the sifting rid Peter of his least attractive qualities: blustery self-confidence, a chip on his shoulder, a propensity to violence. The Gospels show Peter urging Jesus to avoid the cross, cowering in the darkness the night of Jesus’ trial, and denying with an oath that he knows him. In the book of 1 Peter a transformed apostle uses words like humble and submit, and welcomes suffering as a badge of honor.
