Acts 8:24

And Simon answered and said, Pray ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things which ye have spoken come upon me.

'PRAY YE FOR ME TO THE LORD'-Now many writers at this point assert that this response by Simon is proof that he was being hypocritical or insincere. Stott says, 'Simon's response to Peter's rebuke was not encouraging. He showed no sign of repentance, or even of contrition. Instead of praying for forgiveness, as Peter had urged him to do..he felt so incapable of praying, so distrustful of his own prayers, that he asked Peter to pray for him instead.' (p. 151). have to reject the above view: (a) Simon isn't rejecting the rebuke or feeling that he doesn't have to pray, rather, he is desiring the prayers of Peter and John on his behalf (along with his own praying). We would say the same thing, 'Pray for me too!' (b) Notice that he wanted salvation. (c) He definitely believed that Peter's assessment of the situation was true.

'YE'-Addressed to Peter and John.

Point to Note:

This is the last time we hear about Simon in the Bible.. tremendous amount of human tradition is written concerning what he did after this event (see the various reference works). We aren't told if he was successful in living the Christian life or not. If he was able to survive without being "some great one" or not. And that's the way it should be. For all of us are like Simon. Each one of us holds our own eternal fate in our own hands. And whether we can survive, succeed, and find happiness and contentment in following God's way of living and thinking, will depend upon whether we believe that God is good and that God always has our best interest at heart.