And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [Matthew 6:13 ESV]
I have heard that this verse changes a bit when the comma is moved to follow 'lead us'.
Either way you read this there seems to be two aspects to what Jesus is saying.
He speaks first to our need for God to lead us in life.
Left to ourselves, I have found that we usually give in to temptation.
Yet through His indwelling presence, we have the power to resist and overcome temptation.
The second part of the verse is sometimes translated 'deliver us from the evil one'.
It reminds me of this verse in the book of Jude:
Not even the chief angel Michael did this. In his quarrel with the Devil, when they argued about who would have the body of Moses, Michael did not dare condemn the Devil with insulting words, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”This obscure verse tells us that even archangels need the Lord to fight the evil one.
Often when I sense an evil presence I will do what Michael did.
In prayer, I simply ask the Lord to rebuke the evil.
The Lord shows us in these verses that we are to pray for such deliverance.
Life is a spiritual battle and we need God to fight the evil in our lives.
Praying in the name of Jesus defeats the evil that wants to lead us astray.
Lead me today Lord. I need your presence. I need your deliverance from evil.
... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
It is an interesting verse. The word evil here is the same one used by Paul in Romans when he says to "abhor that which is evil." It literally can mean "evil that does harm." We cannot avoid evil in a broken world, and I do not believe God wants us to remove ourselves from the world (we are in the world but not of the world). But protection from the harmful effects of evil, that is a good and reasonable request.
ReplyDeleteYour comments Bob, and also Spherical are very inlightening.
ReplyDeleteThe verse comes to mind ~~Greater is He that is in us, then he that is in the World.
PTL we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, and in His power rebuke the Evil one in Jesus Name.