Psalm of the Day: Psalm 141:1-10
Wisdom of the Day: Proverbs 13:1-13
Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-4
The third division of the Lord's Prayer, respects our daily DANGERS. We are taught to make mention of two things which we ought to fear every day, and which we must expect to meet with as long as we are in this world. One of these things is "temptation." The other is "evil."
We are taught to pray against TEMPTATION — "Lead us not into temptation." We do not mean by this expression, that God is the author of evil, or that He tempts man to sin. (James 1:13.) But we entreat Him that we may not be tempted above what we can bear. We confess our weakness and readiness to fall. We ask our Father to preserve us from trials, or else to make a way for us to escape. We ask that our feet may be kept from temptation, and that we may not bring discredit on our profession and misery on our souls.
We are taught, lastly, to pray against EVIL — "Deliver us from evil." We include under the word evil everything that can hurt us, either in body or soul, and especially every weapon of that great author of evil, the devil. In short, we ask what our Savior Himself asked for us, when He said, "I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one." (John 17:15.)
The most dangerous state in which we can be is not to know and feel our spiritual danger. Let us strive to make the Lord's Prayer our model and pattern in all our approaches to God. Let it suggest to us the sort of things which we should pray for, and pray against. Let it teach us the relative place and proportion which we should give to each subject in our prayers. The more we ponder and examine the Lord's Prayer — the more instructive and helpful shall we find it to be.
Prayer for the Day: Dear Lord, lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil.
Action Plan: Simply relying on God to bail us out of tight spots is not what our Lord was referring to. It is also our responsibility to resist temptation and avoid evil. List the typical temptations and evils that Satan brings across your path each day. Choose a Bible verse to combat each one.
This devotional was taken from The Gospel of Luke by J.C. Ryle published in 1858
and adapted by Pastor Tim Lewis of New England Shores Baptist Church.
