The Lord’s Prayer | Lead Us Not Into Temptation

In the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 (and Luke 11), we see Jesus giving his disciples words to pray that, in reality, is introducing them to a whole new way of living. Jesus says this:

⁹“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread. ¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

As we’ve seen over the last several weeks, each part of the Lord’s Prayer introduces us to a tremendous spiritual theme and a whole way of life. Today we’ll look at verse 13 of the prayer: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

It is interesting to see the progression of the Lord’s Prayer. It begins focused on God, moving next to His kingdom. It then moves to our material needs – bread. Then it moves to the area of relationships. Last, it cuts to the core – to all going on inside our hearts: temptation and the inclination to sin.

Before we dig in, we must point out what James says in James 1:13:

¹³When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

Jesus teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation….” and we might be tempted (no pun intended!) to infer or imply that somehow God (since that’s who the prayer is directed toward) is the one who introduces temptation into our lives. But James tells us clearly that God does not tempt anyone. So, what do we do here?

First, to pray, “Lead us not into temptation…” is not to imply “don’t tempt us, God!” because God has promised not to do that (see above). What the Aramaic language rather implies (the language Jesus spoke here) may best be taken to mean “Father, don’t let us succumb to temptation” or “don’t abandon us to temptation.” It is evident from Scripture that all of us will be tempted (see 1 Corinthians 10:13), and when we give in, it’s our fault, not God’s. The issue is not whether testing will come but whether we will be prepared for it. This is a prayer that God brings us safely through testing in our lives.

And here we come to the second clause of this petition: “…but deliver us from the evil one.” Much of Jesus’ public career was a battle with the powers of darkness. We are also caught up in that battle when we pray this prayer. The apostle Paul tells us so:

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

But we don’t face this battle alone. In this prayer, we claim Jesus’ victory, rescue, and deliverance. When we pray, “deliver us from the evil one,” we’re asking God the Father to empower us to keep fighting the battle against Satan and the forces of evil. Theologian N.T. Wright put it this way:

“To pray ‘deliver us from evil’ or ‘from the evil one’ is to inhale the victory of the cross, and thereby to hold the line for another moment, another hour, another day, against the forces of destruction within ourselves and the world.”

N.T. Wright, The Lord and His Prayer, p.53

We will continually be tempted to turn from Jesus toward sin. Let this prayer reorient us in holiness and empower us to live in the ways of God. Praying this for all of us FBC family:

⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9 ESV)

–Wade