THE LORD'S PRAYER - THE MODEL EXPLAINED: PART 6

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

This original language to English translation is not very accurate at all. God does not tempt anyone to do wrong things.  It is not His holy nature and God does not sin.  The audience at the time when Jesus was teaching the mechanics of His model prayer were Jews, who used to pray all the time to be kept far from bad things. What this really means in truthful terms, from the nuance of the original Greek word is “Lord, PLEASE do not allow or let me fall into some sort of trial or hardship which could cause me so much trouble and tribulation, that I would suffer a lot of lost – permanently or temporary”.

Temptation should not be confused with trials.  In fact, the actual original word “peirasmos” does NOT mean temptation such as you and I would think.  When we hear the word “temptation” – we think about temptation, as regards sins of the flesh – sex, overeating, uncontrolled spending, drinking alcohol and such human folly. What Jesus is teaching us to pray in this prayer, from HIS own word meaning is very crucial. He means for us,  in the literal meaning to pray, we are not enticed into sin but remember we have the Holy Spirit Who will always open a door of escape. Not just enticed, but this word “peirasmos” also instructs for us to invoke Heaven’s help to not fail and then lapse from 100% Faith and true Holiness! This is some serious business! 

Evil and temptation are aligned.  The devil is not worried about those who are unsaved, since he already has them in his grip, bound for an eternity in hell. Those who reject Christ do find a way to avoid temptation. They do have good moral families and some of them remain faithful to their spouses; do not steal; murder or lie under oath etc. There is a reason for this, however. The lost,  just like all humans ever created, all have the Law of God written on their hearts. The Law or Moral Code are the  same 10 Commandments which the atheists want to remove from the public square, not knowing they will be judged under that same Law and found sadly wanting. Yes, even these people know how to avoid temptation and prison from breaking the law of God and man. Spiritual evil never touch these people. This sort of evil only goes for the people of Christ – the saved, the Elect.....for now! The Day of the Lord is coming for those who have stored up wrath for themselves. Evil and temptation will be judged against the Law of God, which though written on the hearts of men, was rejected by them.

Evil and temptation also are intertwined. They are two sides of the same coin. If a Christian gives in to temptation and falls into some kind of sin – lust, adultery, fiscal shenanigans etc – the coin rolls to the flip side and evil is now part of their lifestyle.  Christ is showing us in this prayer that we have to pray against this. We have to know the tricks of the devil and how to engage in spiritual warfare. Teaching in modern churches on this is woeful and lacking because the majority, especially mega churches focus more on Grace and not the full counsel of the Truth. But God in His Wisdom HAS shown us the way, and it is in Ephesians chapter 6 where the weapons of our spiritual warfare are laid out fully for Christians to grab for free and it’s the Full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). Click here to familiarize oneself with this full arsenal of spiritual weaponry, and then let us pray thus:

Father in the Name of Jesus Who showed us how to protect not just our physical bodies, families and homes from all evil, but our testimonies and integrity, we thank You that You did not leave us defenseless. We thank You that in the short physical life we have on this beautiful planet, that You not only provide the means to a good life and for our daily needs of food and home, but for the Protection of our very souls! You love us so much, oh Holy God, that You do not wish us to come to emotional and relational harm with our loved ones and fellow man, and most of all with You. So thank You for this miracle of prayer where we can ask for, plead for and even cry out for Help! We need YOUR Help, Lord, to fight the evil of these corrupt depraved and perverted times. We need  Your angels watching our backs as they always do. We will never know how much bad stuff they protected us from until we get to Glory. But now, oh God, we ask that You know only keep us from bad people who will cause us to stumble and even fall, but that You help us to guard our hearts. 

We pray for a firewall of protection around our spiritual hearts, minds, eyes, ears, hands, mouths and thoughts that no weapon – ABSOLUTELY NO WEAPON – no dart, no temptation, no nothing will pierce that Shield of Righteous Faith which You have provided for our defense, in order that we are protected. Keep us from the evil one, therefore, and the evil circumstances, ideas and even people who can cause us harm. Even if there is no way we can avoid contact or temporal fellowship with them, in offices, in public or even our churches, help us to fortify our own faith, bodies, minds and souls so that nothing with pierce the Godly Armor You have provided for us. We love, praise, adore, admire, thank and worship You for Who You are and for the Godly Standard of Power and Righteous living You are, in the Mighty and Powerful Name of the Commander in Chief of the Universe – Jesus Christ, amen.

777 - SEVEN DAYS OF PRAYER (JULY 1-7, 2014)

DAY 5 (JULY 5, 2014):

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen... (2 Timothy 4:18 ESV).

The popular cultural and societal notion is "there really is no evil" in this world. Even those in the liberal mainlines churches  refuse to come to terms that there is a devil - Satan - who is the accuser of the saints seeks to kill, steal and destroy. The atheist and the liberal deny the existence of evil for a simple reason. That reason is, to accept the existence of evil, one has to accept the existence of Good....and Who is Good? God is good!

Those who are under the oppression of evil know it exists. They know it in the Christian towns of the Islamic Middle Eastern Countries, in Pakistan, throughout Africa where hordes are rampaging through Christian countries. The persecuted know that evil is not just those who suffered under Stalin, Hitler, Castro, Mao and Pol Pot. 

To deny the existence of evil, and blame "society, or capitalism or democracy", is easier than recognizing that our own sin opens us up to be brought down and put in spiritual bondage by evil.  This sort of thinking prevents many from coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and it remains an obstacle to most professing Christians, who accept the defeat of the devil. Both sets of people are outside of the Victory which God, through Christ, provides in the following:

Romans 8:31-39:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

LET US PRAY:

Most Holy and Righteous Father in Heaven, our Help in ages past and our Hope in years to come, be Thou our guide while life shall last and our Eternal protector from the wiles of the evil one. Father, You, through the Mighty Son - Jesus Christ - rescued us from the dominion of darkness, set our feet upon a rock - the Rock of Christ - and put a new song in our heart, and saved us out of the pit. Father, we know that we are victorious because of the Cross and are under the protection of Heaven.

Holy Father, we also know we are under the attack and accusations of the evil one who desires not just to fall, but failing that, to keep us distracted from you. Father, entire generations have been lost to the kingdom in the recent past because we have confused works for worship and self-praise with prayer.

Your church, which Your Son gave His life for, has gone silent, ineffective and even corrupt. Because we have failed You as a Body and a unit, we have failed in our mission to keep our families together, our towns and cities together, our country together and as a result, both the culture and the country now stand in Judgment of You. 

By doing almost nothing, saying nothing and even conforming to this latter day evil, those who call themselves by Your Name are a defeated  and ineffective bunch themselves. For that, I repent, oh God. I see Your forgiveness and ask that You not just keep us from Temptation but deliver us from the wiles and cunning of the Accuser. I pray that You, from Your High and Lofty Throne in Heaven, look down upon us, send Your angels to watch over us to keep us from getting blinded-side. I pray that You not just build strong fortresses around our families and homes, but that You build a wall of fire around our hearts that our love for You will growing stronger and stronger and never grow old or cold.

Lord, we thank You that You are our standard-bearer and is always there for us when we call on You. We love You, praise You and worship and adore You and ask Your Mighty Hand upon us as we rest in the very shadow of Your Mighty Wings, in Jesus Strong and Mighty Name, amen.

GIFTS AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR THE BELIEVER

PART OF SERIES ON SPIRITUAL WARFARE BY LORI CLAYTON

Dr David Livingstone, Scottish Missionary 1813-1873.
People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger now and then with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.
Speech to students at Cambridge University (4 December 1857)

LORI CLAYTON

I think David Livingstone’s perspective is good, he had a hard time in Africa and he did not waiver in his faith.  There are many things that come against believers in Christ.  Sometimes they are demonic in nature.  Christians can have demons, I know that this can be a controversial subject but we have to think this through without being emotional.   Have you ever known of a Christian to lie, cheat, steal, physically hurt someone, emotionally abuse someone or over use alcohol?  Sure you have, there are plenty of people like that in our very churches. 


One of the problems we have is trying to help these people get free yet it seems like they continue to make the same mistakes over and over.  If we are not ministering to the root of the problem we are not setting people free.  How we do that, is what we need to look at, but first we need to look at a few more verses on our power.


Rom 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power [dunamis] of the Holy Ghost.KJV
Rom 15:19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power [dunamis] of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.KJV

READ THE REST OF THIS POWERFUL PIECE BY LORI HERE

THINK ON THESE THINGS - MONDAY

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

We live in such a vile and fallen world full of distractions; infractions and temptations! When the serpent tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, he unleashed a pandora's box of evil on mankind we are still living with. 

Temptation comes in many forms.


It comes in the financial. In horrible economic times, the evil one temps God's people to shade, cut corners and look the other way to get ahead.
It comes in the flesh. The carnal culture has extended into the church, as adultery, immorality and pornography has the same influence inside the church building as out.
It comes in the Body of Christ. Ministry and church leaders are using earthly means and strange fire to stay afloat and run their organizations while claiming to represent God.


The Bible says in James 1:13 ESV " Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God" for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one."

People say God can do anything. Wrong. God cannot and will not sin. He also will not lead you into a compromising position. You do that  yourself all on your own!


Therefore this phrase, next up, in our study of the LORD'S PRAYER is a grenade with a pulled pin! The Bible is clear that God will NOT lead ANYONE into sin! God is Holy Holy Holy. So "leading" anyone into Temptation is not His Nature of Holiness!


There is some misunderstanding into the English translation from the original Greek Language! The key part of the phrase is "Kai me eisenenkes hemas me eis pierasmos". This really implies, when looked at literally, "do not bring or allow me to fall into temptation (or a test)"! Then if you follow into the next phrase, Jesus says "but LEAD us AWAY from evil.


God will provide a way out of the temptation He allowed you to fall into, because of your own lustful nature. HE ALWAYS PROVIDES AN ESCAPE! If you do NOT take that escape, the sin is entirely on YOU! So let's go to Jesus and Prayer now:

Matthew 6: 8-13:

Our Father in heaven,
      Hallowed be Your name.
      Your kingdom come.
      Your will be done
      On earth as it is in heaven.
      Give us this day our daily bread.
   And forgive us our debts,
      As we forgive our debtors.
    And do not lead us into temptation,
      But deliver us from the evil one.
      For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION:  Lord, Your Word says we will not be tempted beyond the ability to handle it. Your Word says resist the devil and he shall flee from us. Lord, we have the Power within us, the Power of the Holy Spirit, to say NO. To say GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN. To be a man or woman of integrity like Joseph and to flee the adulterer, the briber, the thief, the kleptomaniac and more.  Let us remember we wear You on our sleeves, so that we may never bring dishonor to You. Remove all temptation from our path, but when it comes oh Lord, You take over and turn our eyes away from it, so it may pass us by. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

BUT DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE: Father deliver us from the evil one. He has many demons amongst us, many stumbling blocks, and many ways to bring confusion to our lives. He uses Your church to sow division, soft doctrine and shallow service. He has taken Your beautiful creation of this world and caused some to worship it, instead of You. He has taken the beautiful people You have created and perverted their images into raw pornography, MTV and various other idols of this world. Build a wall of fire around me. Build a wall of fire around my family and friends. Build a wall of fire around my marriage and my spouse. Build a wall of fire around my heart and my eyes so that when he sends his evil in beautiful packages and they get too close, they will burn up with the fire of Your Wrath because You are my shield and buckler, Oh Lord. Thank you, In Jesus’ Name. Amen

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