<p>8:24 <i>And Simon answered and said: <em>Pray for me to the Lord</em></i>- Peter had to pray for Simon as Christ had prayed for him (Acts 8:24 cp. Lk. 22:32). As with his preaching, Peter&rsquo;s pastoral work was shot through with an awareness of his own failure and taste of his Lord&rsquo;s grace. The lack of energy in our collective care for each other is surely reflective of a lack of awareness of our sinfulness, a shallow grasp of grace, and a subsequent lack of appreciation of the need to lay down our lives for the brethren, as the Lord did for us. Jesus Himself encouraged Peter to see things this way, in that He arranged&nbsp;circumstances so that Peter had to pray for Simon as Christ had prayed for him (Acts 8:24 cp. Lk. 22:32).</p><p>There is no record as to whether Peter did pray for Simon. This is one of those things which is purposefully left hanging in the Biblical record, in order to exercise us. Can we pray for others to be forgiven? To what extent can our prayer be a factor in their forgiveness? There is a degree to which this is indeed a factor (e.g. Mk. 2:5), but to what degree...?</p><p><em>That none of the things which you have spoken come upon me</em>- Did Peter list various terrible judgments which the record doesn't state? Or are &quot;the things&quot; a reference to Peter's comment that Simon right then was &quot;poisoned by bitterness and held captive by iniquity&quot;? I suspect the latter. Because it is typical of those in that position that they will refuse to recognize that this is in fact how they are. They see this state as something which could happen to them, but they aren't there yet. All sin is addiction, to some extent; and this is the classic mindset of the addict or alcoholic.</p>