Ep.025: Psalm 4: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me.”

Psalm 1 and 2 were an introduction to the Psalms. Psalm 3 was the first prayer — David’s prayer of loss and desperation when Absalom betrayed him. Our prayers often start in that same place of loss and desperation. But now Psalms 4 and 5 will introduce another type of prayer — prayers that are not emergency 911 calls to God, but prayers said in the regular rhythm of our lives in good times and bad.

The first rhythm the psalmist introduces is evening and morning. Psalm 4 is an evening prayer and Psalm 5 is a morning prayer. The heart of the evening prayer is to leave the finished and unfinished business of our day with God, to tell him our successes and failures, to entrust our friends and enemies to him. Then we release ourselves to the forgetfulness of sleep, knowing that God will not forget us. This is Psalm 4, our prayer today.

Let’s pray it.

“Answer me when I call to you
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress,
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.”
Our Father, we bring to you the things that distressed us today — news of natural and political disasters, family breakups, problems with health and employment and relationships. We ask for a night of relief from our distress. Grant us peace.

“How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Know that the Lord has set apart his servants for himself
the Lord hears when I call to him.”
Our enemies turn our glory into shame. They despise our faith, they belittle our prayers, they disparage our good works, they find fault with our view of God. But we are your people, Lord. Thank you that you honor us as servants and listen to our prayers.

“In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the Lord.”
Our anger flared up again today, but now at day’s end we search our hearts and we are silent before you. You know us, for we are your people. We know you, for you are our God. We trust you with our heart and mind and soul.

“Many are asking, “Who will show us any good?”
Let the light of your face shine on us.
You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.”
We circle back to that age-old problem, “Who will show us any good?” What is good, and how can we know it? What is the good life, and how can we live it? Our answer is, “We know goodness when you smile at us, God. We feel goodness in the light of your presence. We experience goodness when you fill our hearts with joy.”

“In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.”
Our day, our life is in your hands. In your care, we give ourselves gladly and joyfully to sleep.
Amen

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.024: Moses Says, “I Quit!”

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me.”

After Moses led the Israelite slaves out of Egypt, they received the 10 commandments at Mt. Sinai. Then they began a journey through the desert to the promised land. Water was scarce and their only food was manna, a seed-like substance that had to be cooked into cereal or ground into flour to make bread.

The people quickly grew tired of this diet and started complaining to Moses. “We’ve lost our appetite. All we get is this manna. What’s the problem here? How about something with flavor, like the fish and cucumbers and leeks and onions we had in Egypt?”

The people’s complaining angered Moses. He was annoyed with his job as their leader. Since it was God who hired him as Chief Executive Officer and Project Manager for the trek through the desert, Moses made an appointment with God, and said to him:

“‘Why have you brought this trouble on your servant?
What did I do wrong to deserve this burden?”
Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth?
Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’
I can’t carry all these people alone. The burden is too heavy for me.
If this is how you are going to treat me, do me a favor and kill me right now.” (Numbers 10:11-15)

Some prayer that. “If this is how you treat me, do me a favor and kill me right now.” When I attended Sunday School, they didn’t use this story as a model for how to pray.

Note that Moses was doing the same thing as his people– he was complaining. They were complaining about food and Moses was complaining his job. God had promised the Israelite ancestors that he would give them the promised land. But after God’s sales pitch about the amazing future, guess who got stuck leading the impossible project? Moses, who complained to God, “You promised them the world, but all I get is a bunch of losers with unreasonable expectations, endless complaints, and zero initiative. I can’t do anything with this riffraff. I’m overworked and underappreciated and I’ve had enough!” Do you ever feel like that about your job? Does your boss think of you as unmanageable, complaining riffraff? Are your colleagues all impossible losers?

God, to his credit, didn’t start an argument with Moses. He didn’t give him a lecture about complaining. He didn’t send him on a project management course or a course on how to deal with difficult people. He didn’t suggest a new methodology like “Agile Leadership”. Instead, he quietly listened to Moses’ complaints, and he took two steps to address the underlying problems. God put his spirit on 70 elders to help Moses lead the people. And he sent a flock of migrating quails to provide meat to go with the manna.

Let’s pray. Our Father in heaven, we too are on a journey to the land you promised. But sometimes you seem to lead us the long way around. You didn’t warn us about the restricted diet and the difficult working conditions and the complaining people we get to travel with. Give us wisdom and leadership and courage to continue. Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.023: Psalm 3: Disaster has Struck!

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Psalm 1 showed us an individual who is preparing to pray. Psalm 2 showed the world stage where prayer and politics are playing out. Now, in Psalm 3, we get down to the business of praying.

Psalm 3 has a subtitle that says, “A psalm of David when he fled from his son, Absalom.” Absalom was King David’s third son, so he wasn’t in line for the throne. But he had skill and ambition, so he won the hearts of the people of Israel, he proclaimed himself king in the city of Hebron, and he prepared to march on the capital city, Jerusalem, where his father David was king.

When David heard that Absalom was coming, he fled with his army and household to escape the coming terrorism and instability. As the convoy of refugees passed towns and villages, many who loved King David wept for him. David also wept on the road up the Mount of Olives, where many years later on this same mountain, Jesus, the son of David, would experience his betrayal.

Here are three things to notice about David’s prayer in Psalm 3.

1. First, the prayer comes out of heartbreak, pain, loss, and desperation. David’s own son betrayed him and was preparing a violent coup. David doesn’t want to fight against his son, but circumstances may force him to.

2. Second, at the beginning of the prayer, David’s focus is on his enemies: “Many rise up against me, many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’” But David’s focus soon turns to God. He says, “You are a shield around me.” Think of Star Wars, where the Death Star is shielded by a force field until Han Solo takes out the shield generator. God is our shield, and no evil empire or rebel alliance can take him out of the picture.

3. Third, David chooses not to be paralyzed with fear. He doesn’t brood on all the bad things that are happening. He says, “I lie down and sleep, I wake again because the Lord sustains me.” Whether Absalom kills him or he kills Absalom, God is in charge. Might as well get a good night’s sleep.

Let’s pray.

“O Lord, how many are my enemies, how many say of me, ‘God will not deliver him.’”
– We bring to you our enemy anxiety. Our relationships are full of misunderstandings and stress. But we let go of the anxiety and replace it with trust in you.
– We bring to you our enemy self-pity. We are lonely, overworked, our health is failing, we are tired and poor. But we choose to exit our pity-party, and wait hopefully for the salvation you bring.

“You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory and the One who lifts my head high.”
– We choose to stop looking at life with head hanging down. We want to see more than our feet. You are the one who lifts our head to see the shining sun, even when life seems black.
– We choose to stop looking at life with head hanging down. We want to see more than our feet. You are the one who lifts our head to see the shining sun, even when life seems black.

“I lie down and sleep, I awake again because you, Lord, sustain me.”
– Here we are, “Sleepless in Seattle” or wherever we live, brooding on the chaos and failure of our lives.
– But you have given us the day for work and the night for sleep. We commit to you our joys and sorrows, our relationships–broken or repaired, our hopes–dashed or renewed. We receive from you the gift of sleep, and the promise of a new day tomorrow.

Thank you, Lord. Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.022: Whose People are These Anyway?

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me.”

Today’s story begins after Moses led the Israelite slaves out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, to the foot of Mt. Sinai. Moses left the people there and went up the mountain to talk with God. The people got tired of waiting to hear from God and Moses, so they collected all their gold jewelry, made a golden calf to represent the god who brought them out of Egypt, and had a holiday eating and drinking and worshipping the calf.

When God saw this, he said to Moses, “I think we have a crisis. You’d better head back down because YOUR people whom YOU brought up out of Egypt have turned away from me and made an idol in the shape of a calf.”

“In fact,” said God, “I’m so angry at these stiff-necked people that I want to destroy them and start over again with you, Moses. I will make you into a great nation.”

Starting over like this was not a new idea for God. At creation, he started with Adam and Eve in the Garden, but when that project went bad, he sent them away to start over on thorny ground. A few hundred years later, the thorny ground project went bad too. So God sent a big flood to wipe out the people of the earth, and started over again, this time with Noah. After that, he started something new with Abraham. And now he’s offering to start over again with Moses. I think that’s a pretty decent offer God made to Moses.

But Moses wasn’t so sure. He didn’t even respond to God’s offer, he simply ignored it and said, “God, don’t be so angry with YOUR people whom YOU brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand.”

So who do these problem people belong to, God or Moses?

There are lessons for us and our prayers…

First, it’s not always a good idea to start over. Divorce, church splits, quitting your job, declaring bankruptcy, moving to a new city, changing your name — these often look like the gift of a fresh start. But whatever problems you brought to your current situation, you will probably bring to the new situation too. Good on Moses for ignoring God’s suggestion to start over with him.
Second, think for a moment about who the problem-people in your life belong to. We are all sons and daughters of God. Our children are his, not ours. Our church belongs to him, not us. Our partner is his problem as much as ours. Follow Moses’ example in your prayers. Say to God, “These are your people, God. You created them, you love them, and you need to deal with them. Or at least, you need to help me deal with them.”

Our Father in heaven, forgive our arrogance in thinking that if you started over with us, the new order would be a great success. Teach us instead to live in love and wisdom with all our fallen brothers and sisters.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.021: Psalm 2: The Nations Have Gone Wild

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me.”

Today we meditate and pray on Psalm 2, where the nations have gone wild. It starts:
Why do the nations rage
and the people plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers gather together
Against the Lord and against his anointed, saying
“Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”

In Psalm 1, an individual was the focus, choosing to be a chaff person or a tree person. In Psalm 2, the whole world comes into view. The nations and their leaders say, “God means nothing to us. He has no claim on the kingdoms of the world. He has nothing useful to say about civil rights or human rights or terrorism or war. We are on our own in the world, we’ll look after ourselves.”

North Korea’s Kim-jong Un says, “I’ll play with nukes to scare the big boys into cooperation.”

Vladimir Putin says, “A military adventure abroad will distract them from troubles at home.”

The Taliban say, “More car bombs in Kabul will drive the foreigners away.”

Bashar Al-assad of Syria says, “It took seven years of war, half a million dead, a few million refugees, and some chemical weapons, but with a little help from my friends, I’m still in charge.”

Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia says, “My war is destroying Yemen, we’ve killed a journalist or two, but women drivers are now permitted in Saudi Arabia. Clearly, I am making progress.”

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu walks softly, but carries a big stick when dealing with Palestine.

President Donald Trump of the United States says, “You’re fired!”

But God refuses to be fired. Psalm 2 says that God laughs at the world leaders, and says, “I have installed my king in Zion, my holy mountain.”

And God says to his son,
“Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron
and dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Let’s pray. Our Father, perhaps the anarchists are right. Perhaps the only way to fix the broken politics of this world is to smash them with a rod of iron and dash them to pieces like pottery. You promise your son, who we know as Jesus, that you will give him the nations as his inheritance to rule or to destroy as he wishes.

Somewhere behind the politics of this world, somewhere beyond the posturing of the leaders, somewhere far from their self-promotion and bravado and violence; somewhere unseen in the confusion of the nations — Jesus your son is waiting, building his kingdom of righteousness, training his soldiers of truth and peace. As the psalm says, “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

Our Father, this is our prayer today . . . that we will not live in fear or awe of the kings of this world, but that we will find in King Jesus a refuge for our lives, and that in him, you will bring the day when he will depose all earthly kings and establish his reign forever.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.020: A Plague on Your House

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Today we consider the story of Moses leading the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. Moses started by asking Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to let the people go. But Pharaoh wasn’t about to release his slave labor force. That’s like asking Walmart to dismiss its clerks and shelf stockers, and run the store with just the management. Not going to happen.

So Moses had a wee contest with Pharaoh, in which Moses called down plagues on Egypt to convince Pharaoh to free the Israelite slaves. Pharaoh wasn’t impressed with the first two plagues because his magicians could so something similar. But Pharaoh found the plagues annoying, so he asked Moses to pray to the Lord to get rid of them.

After plague #2, Pharaoh said, “Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs, and I will let your people go.”

After the plague of flies, he said, “I will let you go to offer sacrifices to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”

After the plague of thunderstorms with lightning and hail, Pharaoh said, “Pray to the Lord, for we have had enough.”

And after plague #8, the locusts, he said, “Forgive my sin once more and pray for me.”

I like his prayer after the locusts. “Forgive my sin once more and pray for me.” Amen to that! That’s a prayer for you and for me. After each plague, Pharaoh promised to let the Israelites go, but as soon as God lifted the plague, Pharaoh changed his mind. What would it take to get Pharaoh to keep his promises and to set the people free? What finally worked was when Moses created a path through the Red Sea on which the Israelites escaped to safety. And when Pharaoh’s army followed, the path disappeared, the sea came in, and the army drowned.

Let’s take a look at Pharaoh’s philosophy of prayer and see if it has some lessons for us. Here’s how the Pharaoh philosophy of prayer operates: God tells you to do something, you decide you don’t really want to do it. God makes your life difficult, you ask someone to pray for you. And amazingly, the prayer works. Your life becomes easier, your troubles go away, and you forget about God. . . until God sends more troubles to get your attention and you say, “Oh, yeah! That’s what I was supposed to do. Maybe I’ll do it this time.” So you pray for relief from your new troubles, your prayer gets answered, things get better, and you settle back into your comfort zone of ignoring God.

So here are two lessons from Pharaoh’s philosophy of prayer:

1. Be sure to pray when your life is falling apart. That’s what prayer is for.

2. But remember to keep your promises when times are good. That’s what prayer is about too!

Dear God, teach us to pray and obey when times are good and when times are bad. May our paths lead us through the Red Sea to the wilderness where you meet us. And save us from our enemies who pursue us to bring us back into slavery.

Thank you for listening.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with me”.

Appendix: The 10 plagues and Pharaoh’s responses.

Nile to blood
Frogs Pray to the Lord
Gnats or lice
Flies Pray for me
Livestock
Boils
Thunderstorm – Hail Pray to the Lord for we have had enough
Locusts Forgive my sin once more and pray for me
Darkness for 3 days
Firstborn Go, and bless me.
The Finale: Path through the Red Sea

Ep.019: Psalm 1: Tree People and Chaff People

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me.”

Today we start a new prayer project: praying through the Psalms. We start with Psalm 1, which asks the question, “Do you want to be a chaff person or a tree person?”

Psalm 1 describes wicked people as chaff blown around by the wind. So what is chaff?

When the wheat is growing, the kernels are protected by an outer layer of fibre. But after harvest, you garbage the dry and useless husks, and save the edible kernels to be ground into flour.

1. Imagine a grain farmer in ancient times, using a shovel to toss his pile of grain into the air. The wind blows away the dry husks and dirt, and the good seeds fall back into the pile.

2. A modern combine takes the crop into the front and spews dirt and straw and husks out the back.

3. In World War 2, planes dropped foil-backed strips of paper into the air to confuse the enemy radar. They called it chaff. It was a cloud of paper fluttering down through the air, ending up as useless litter on the ground.

Maybe your life is like chaff: short-term, temporary, little to show for your efforts, changing direction with the weather, a cloud of dust and husks in the blowing wind. Always looking for the next hit of entertainment or drugs or religion that will mask your pain and give you relief from gnawing emptiness and angst.

Psalm 1 says there is another way to do life. Instead of being a chaff person, you could be a tree person. A tree, planted by streams of water, always green and leafy, giving a harvest of fruit. A tree person has deep roots, a tree person doesn’t dry up and blow away. A tree person becomes like Treebeard the Ent in “Lord of the Rings” — not hasty, but thoughtful, wise, and good.

Let’s pray.

Our Father, so much of our life is chaff. Our books, our movies, our video games, days on Facebook and nights surfing the net. Our lives are blowing away a cloud of dust and chaff.

Help us become tree people. To grow our roots deep into your word. To listen to our heart when it tells us to pray. To obey the spirit when it encourages us to love a neighbour. Psalm 1 says, “The Tree Person delights in the law of the Lord.” Help us to discover the delight that comes from letting go our ways of chaff, and growing roots and leaves and fruit, fed by the Spirit in streams of water and growing up into the warming sunshine of your presence.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Ep.018: Abraham Cuts a Deal with God

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me.”

Today in the book of Genesis we look at the story (chapter 18) where Abraham negotiated with God. One day, three strangers visit Abraham, and when they are leaving one of them turns back and says to him, “I’ve heard those cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are pretty evil. I think I’ll go down and check it out. I want to see if it’s as bad as they say it is.”

On hearing this, Abraham immediately assumes the Lord will conclude, “Yes, it’s pretty bad down there. I think I’ll destroy those cities.” So Abraham tries to head him off. He says, “Uhhh . . . suppose you find 50 righteous people down there. Would you destroy the whole city, including 50 righteous people? That doesn’t sound like something the Judge of the Whole Earth would do.”

The Lord says, “Good point. If I find 50 righteous people, I’ll spare the whole place for their sake.”

So Abraham says, “Uhhh . . . what if there are 45 instead of 50? Same problem, right?” And the Lord says, “Ok, for 45 I’d spare the city.” Abraham keeps negotiating God down: What about 40 righteous? 30? 20? 10?” And the Lord says, “For the sake of 10 I will not destroy it.” Then he leaves. That’s the cliffhanger. Will the Lord find 10 righteous people and spare the city? Or will he find 9 or fewer and destroy it? And will those 9 righteous people get destroyed with the wicked? You can read the story and find out.

Meanwhile what can we learn about prayer from this story?

First, our word prayer does not appear in the story. But if our idea of prayer includes a conversation or negotiation with someone called “the Lord” and the “the Judge of the Whole Earth,” then yes, this is a prayer. Maybe one type of prayer is just talking to the Lord about things like current events and his plans and yours.

Second, does this story invite us to negotiate with the Lord? Last time the lottery got up to 50 million, I tried to negotiate with God. “God, if you give me the winning numbers, I’ll give you 10%.” 10% sounds pretty cheap, eh? Ok. How about 20%. Still not generous enough? 30%? 40%? Isn’t 40% how much personal injury lawyers charge? Surely the Judge of the Whole Earth wouldn’t charge more than a personal injury lawyer.
Guess how much my prayer got answered? That’s why I’m still living on a meagre pension instead of travelling the world in style.

Foolishness aside, consider other types of negotiating prayers: parents who say to God, “If you keep my children safe, I’ll go to church every week,” or “If you cure my partner of cancer, I’ll be kind to him and take care of him” or “If you help me get a raise, I’ll start tithing.” Why do these prayers go unanswered?

In Abraham’s story, it’s God who introduces the topic to be discussed, not Abraham. That’s part of the problem with my prayer life. I really want to talk to God about the lottery, but when I pray, he introduces topics like, “Are you loving your neighbors?”, “Are you learning patience?” Man, what is this about prayer? I have a whole lifetime to learn patience, but the lottery draw is happening this week already!

Further on in the Bible there’s the story of Job, who is famous for how much he suffered. Job said about God (Job 23:3-4):

If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!
I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.

Job found that God was silent on the topics Job wanted to discuss. Job finally had to shut up about his favorite topics and start listening. There’s a lesson in that for you and for me.

Dear God, you are silent on so many of the topics we pray about. Help us to hear what you want to talk about. Help us listen to what you say. And when you are silent, help us wait in silence for you. Amen.

I’m Daniel on the Channel “Pray With Me.”

(For the best technical exposition of the Sodom and Gomorrah story in context, see http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/20090505120133469 (Robert Alter, “Sodom as Nexus: the Web of Design in Biblical Narrative.”)

Praying the Lords’ Prayer 09: Kingdom, Power, Glory

Hi, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.

Today, we pray the last phrase in the Lord’s prayer: “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever.” 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,

Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever.

The ancient Greek hero, Achilles covered himself with glory by fighting the Trojans. My boss once said of an information technology project that failed: “They didn’t cover themselves with glory.”

But you, O God, have covered yourself in glory by everything you have done.
– You created a vast and beautiful universe. The psalmist says the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1).
– You defeated Pharaoh’s armies, freeing the Israelites from slavery. You made a path for them through the Red Sea. |
– In Christ, you created a way of salvation for us. When we were dead in our sins, you made us alive with him, forgiving our sins and cancelling the charges against us.
– On the cross, you disarmed the spiritual powers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them and triumphing over them (Colossians 3:16-19).
– By these great deeds you covered yourself with glory.

You have made Jesus glorious by giving him the name that is above every name, so that at the end of time, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is King, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10-11).

We look forward to the new order you have already begun to establish,
– Where the only kingdom left standing will be your kingdom, ruled by King Jesus,
– Where all your enemies will be defeated,
– Where the power of sin and death and the devil will be destroyed forever,
– And your glory will shine eternally for all to see.

Our Father, yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and forever.

Amen.

I’m Daniel on the “Pray with Me”

Praying the Lord’s Prayer 08: Time of Trial

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”.