February 22 2025

Saturday February 22

“Deliver Us From the Evil One”

Luke 11:1-4

1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." 2 So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." 

First, let me thank everyone for your prayers for Luke yesterday. His surgery at UVA went well and the immediate issue of a faulty value was taken care of. He will have some tests this morning and hopefully will go home back to Roanoke before the day is over. Thanks again so very much for caring and praying!

So far we have learned from the Lord’s teachings on prayer in this passage in Luke 11, that prayer concerns our Father’s presence, our Father's purpose, our Father’s provision, our Father’s pardon, and our Father’s protection. I couldn’t help but notice that before we pray for His protection as believers, we should have the assurance that we have our own sins forgiven, which only comes because we have forgiven “everyone” who wronged, sinned, hurt, or offended us.

This is crucial if we are going to be able to expect the Father to protect us from the attacks of the evil one. Unconfessed sin in our lives become a “stronghold” of Satan in our minds and hearts. Those strongholds can only be destroyed by the mighty weapons of the Word of God and prayer: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 reminds us: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

Did you also notice that in this basic model and pattern of prayer we are not taught to pray for the Father to keep us from experiencing sickness, suffering, pain, or discomfort. We are not taught to pray that we won’t die. For sure, no doubt, it is not wrong to pray for our physical, mental, and emotional needs, or even for these needs in our family and friends. But far more important than our circumstantial needs, it is clear here that the emphasis is on our character needs!  We are all going to suffer afflictions and pain and one day face death.

That is the reality of life! But we have been promised that the Lord will give us grace and strength to go through it all with His presence and therefore we don’t need to worry or fear (Psalm 23:4). What is important is our faith and trust in our heavenly Father to supply for every need we have (Philippians 4:19).

We should also note that when we pray, “Do not lead us into temptation”, that it means that the Lord is the One who might be leading us to do something wrong or evil. No, this statement is a way of saying that we need the Father’s protection from the solicitation of the evil one to sin or do wrong. James make it very clear that God does not tempt us with evil: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (James 1:12-16).

1 John 2:16 reminds us that all temptations we face in this world concern three areas: “For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.”

These are the same things that the Devil tempted Jesus with (Matthew 4:1-11). Peter warned us: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:11-12; “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

That is why we pray for our Father’s protection against the evil one and his temptations. But we must also do our part by: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14).

If we are “drinking of the water of Life” that Jesus gives us in His Word, we not be thirsting for the dirty water from the well of the world (John 4:13-14). And remember Psalm 119:11: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!”

Today, are you experiencing “deliverance from the evil one”!

God bless!