Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Today, as we continue praying the Lord’s Prayer, we focus on the phrase “Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.” First, the whole prayer:
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
And deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever,
Amen.
Our Father in heaven,
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. In the Gospel of Matthew, only a short while before praying this prayer, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). And he will soon be tested again in the Garden of Gethsemane where he will pray, “Father, if it is possible, don’t make me go through this last and greatest trial of my life.”
Seeing Jesus led from trial to trial, we pray to you Father, “Please don’t treat us that way. Don’t lead us into a wilderness for testing, but deliver us from evil.”
We know our weakness. We have prayed for forgiveness for our sins. But still we are seduced by three great powers of evil — the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Deliver us first from the world–our human culture without God. It encourages us to be workaholics, shopaholics, chocaholics, TVaholics, churchaholics — any addiction that leads us away from you, our Father, into a wilderness of shiny lights, shadows, and selfish activities.
Deliver us also from the flesh: the desires of our body that work against the Spirit, pulling us away from faith and prayer. Food is the first temptation of the flesh. Distortions of healthy appetite – like anorexia, bulimia, and gluttony – drag our spirits into a wilderness where prayer is impossible. Sex is another appetite of the flesh. Fantasy and internet pornography drag many into a relationship-destroying wilderness of addiction and obsession. A third sin of the flesh is lethargy. We sink into mindless numbness watching hours of TV or playing endless video games, losing our capacity for human interaction and creativity. Good Father, deliver us from all sins of the flesh. Teach us self-control. Teach us moderation in eating, teach us restraint in using technology, teach us purity in our thoughts.
Deliver us also from the devil. We believe there is an unseen spirit world all around us, inhabited by angels and demons. Paul says our battle is against “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Warn us we pray when we are at risk from the spirit world we cannot see and protect us from the works of the devil.
Our Father, we pray that you will not lead us into trials greater than we can bear, and that you will save us from the enemies of our soul: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
Amen.
I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Pray with Me 