Christ’s Model For Prayer, Part 5

Peter Rufus
What Christians Pursue
Christ’s Model For Prayer, Part 5
Matthew 6:13
12 March 2017

Although we have been chosen by God for eternal life, we still have to fight the flesh. This is why Christ instructs us to pray "deliver us from evil." We fight because we are delivered, not because we must earn deliverance.

"Lead us not into temptation." This prayer presumes we have made holiness a priority, and are asking God to keep us from trials if possible. We pray this not because God leads us into temptation (Jas. 1:13), but because He uses it to refine us. God may will for us to be tested, and so like Christ we can pray "Your will be done."

"Deliver us from evil." This is not the prayer of someone who trifles with sin, but flees it. If God has willed us to be tested, He will also give us the strength to endure (1 Cor. 10:13). Because of this, we can plead God to deliver us from evil, for He is able. If God allowed His own Son to face trials, we should expect them too. Even when they are painful, they are not meaningless - affliction his an eternal purpose.

Let us pray for strength to persevere, keep watch, and live in the hope of eternity. God can give us strength to embrace trials and face evil.