Lead us and deliver us
Lead us and deliver us
Today's sermon is on the last line of the Lord’s prayer “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (There is a line that follows this one that appears in later manuscripts and it reads “For Thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen.” This line probably became standard when the Lord’s prayer was read in churches. It is a true statement and a wonderful way to close the Lord’s prayer, but it probably isn't in the original.)
The line “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” teaches us four important things when it comes to walking through trials and temptations.
1. It teaches us to expect trials and temptations on a daily basis. It is clear that the Lord’s prayer should be prayed in some form or another on a daily basis. We get this from the line “give us this day our daily bread”. It seems then that the whole prayer is meant to be a daily prayer, including this line about protection and deliverance. So we should expect daily trials. 1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
2. We should recognize that we aren’t equipped to survive fiery trials by our own strength, so we must pray for help. When a tree is blown by the wind it either puts down deeper stronger roots, or it blows over. We must learn to put down deep roots into God through prayer if we are to survive the storms of evil and temptation.
3. We should pray that we would be protected from evil more than from pain and suffering. In this life, pain is not our major enemy, evil is! One gram of evil will do more harm to the Christian soul than one thousand tons of pain.
4. Lastly, we must learn to trust our trials to our heavenly Father. This is why we are taught to pray at the outset of the Lord’s prayer to address our prayers to “Our Father” that we might know we are loved and safe no matter what. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”
Bible Text: Matthew 6:13 | Preacher: Ian Goodman | Series: The Lord’s prayer | Today’s sermon is on the last line of the Lord’s prayer “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (There is a line that follows this one that appears in later manuscripts and it reads “For Thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen.” This line probably became standard when the Lord’s prayer was read in churches. It is a true statement and a wonderful way to close the Lord’s prayer, but it probably isn’t in the original.)
The line “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” teaches us four important things when it comes to walking through trials and temptations.
1. It teaches us to expect trials and temptations on a daily basis. It is clear that the Lord’s prayer should be prayed in some form or another on a daily basis. We get this from the line “give us this day our daily bread”. It seems then that the whole prayer is meant to be a daily prayer, including this line about protection and deliverance. So we should expect daily trials. 1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
2. We should recognize that we aren’t equipped to survive fiery trials by our own strength, so we must pray for help. When a tree is blown by the wind it either puts down deeper stronger roots, or it blows over. We must learn to put down deep roots into God through prayer if we are to survive the storms of evil and temptation.
3. We should pray that we would be protected from evil more than from pain and suffering. In this life, pain is not our major enemy, evil is! One gram of evil will do more harm to the Christian soul than one thousand tons of pain.
4. Lastly, we must learn to trust our trials to our heavenly Father. This is why we are taught to pray at the outset of the Lord’s prayer to address our prayers to “Our Father” that we might know we are loved and safe no matter what. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”