“Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one” Matthew 6:13
As we take one last look and reflection of the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6, I am struck that Jesus, who taught this prayer to His close disciples, ends it with these words, “lead us not into temptation and deliver us from the evil one”. As we discovered earlier in the prayer by asking for our daily bread, He intended us to pray this prayer daily. He is instructing His disciples to intentionally ask God to protect them every day from themselves as well as the enemy of their body and souls, the devil, the one who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour them, devour us.
Jesus is reminding us that we live in a broken, fallen world and there is evil all around us and there is brokenness within us that we war against. Ephesians 2 reminds of the forces that tempt us - the world, the flesh, and the devil. The desire to drag us off and away from the good things of God and His good plans for us of being His light in the dark places of the world, bringing heaven to earth in and through us. We absolutely cannot resist temptation in and of ourselves. Although God never tempts us Himself, He does allow temptation to accomplish redemptive qualities by revealing what is actually in our hearts, by allowing us choices that help us to clarify the significant important issues in our lives, to strengthen our faith and will by strengthening our spiritual faith muscles, and so we can be a living example to others and a witness of God’s amazing grace to those around us searching for hope.
This petition is also a corporate prayer of sorts, reminding us that we live in community and we pray it not just for ourselves but for one another. We are surrounded by souls in desperate need of deliverance from the chains that bind them in their temptations and the evil forces that seek to devour them or their loved ones. We all need deliverance and it is available to each of us simply for the humble, honest asking.
Jesus, by reminding us to pray this prayer daily is warning us to guard against pride that believes we are too strong to be dragged away in sin. Proverbs 16:18 warns us of prideful arrogance making us blind to our own weaknesses. This overconfidence sets us up for a sudden failure or ruin. The following verse 19, reminds us that true success comes from humility, wisdom, and trusting in the Lord rather than relying on one's own strength and ego.
We do not need to live in fear; we know that victory is imminent. The enemy has already been defeated so whether we are asking for God to lead us away from sin or from difficult trials, our goal is found in the second part of verse 13: “Deliver us from the evil one.” A petition similar to one written by David in psalm 141:4“Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.” In all things, God is our deliverer, and we are wise to seek His power over sin.
The beautiful thing about this prayer is that it redirects our focus to God and His rightful place in our lives on a daily basis…give us our bread, expressing our dependance on God for sustenance both physically and spiritually…forgive us our debts, acknowledges we are prone to sin even when we try hard not to…lead us not into temptation speaks to our propensity to wander off, …deliver us or rescue us from evil. We are weaker than we would like to admit and this declaration is recognition of our limited abilities, seeking the help of God through the Holy Spirit in us, His provision for our daily spiritual needs. Only He can truly rescue us no matter how hard we may try on our own. This whole prayer is a declaration of humble submission declaring our reliance on God and all He has done and continues to do to redeem us.
Fondly,
Melody
