This is the eighth in a series of posts on the Lord’s Prayer.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
– Jesus, The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:13)
As Jesus neared the end of the model prayer, He moved from forgiveness to trial, temptation, and of course, God’s deliverance. We can pray for God to deliver us from evil, because we trust in the One who conquered Satan!
Jesus, on other occasions, told His disciples to be prepared for struggle. He Himself faced the Tempter just after He was baptized. Joseph confronted temptation once he climbed the ladder of success to the palace of Potiphar. David met temptation after scoring major military victories. No matter how high you think your spiritual mountain might be right now, be ready and prepared – temptation is coming!
That’s why Jesus tells us to pray that God protect us from temptation. We know how weak and fragile we are. When you think you’re tough enough, you are like a hard vase that is most easily broken! Today’s Christians are tempted to compromise the Gospel for relevancy in a pluralistic world. Those who speak Bible truth about certain issues will soon be accused of committing hate crimes. The one who brings Jesus out of the prayer closet and into the public square will soon be labeled a fanatic or a bigot. Jesus’ disciples also faced social ostracizing and religious persecution. Thus, we pray, “God don’t lead us there, but when the evil comes to us, deliver us!”
To be a discerning disciple one must see evil for what it is! The Evil One exists and is active in this world. Still, we should never give more time to thinking about the reality of evil than we do the reality of God’s victory over that evil! Whenever evil seems too powerful, the tribulation too perilous, the trial too painful, the temptation too irresistible – may the last breath that escapes from our lungs be “Deliver us, Father!” We know that Satan may indeed be strong, but the Stronger One has bound and has defeated him. The serpent’s head has been crushed by the Savior’s heel!
