Deliver Us From Evil...

Many are familiar with the phrase “deliver us from evil,” which is part of the Lord’s Prayer. There is a reason this phrase was included in the model prayer given by Jesus Christ.

Do you feel safe? Most do not, as is evidenced by the actions of many who are taking extra precautions to ensure the personal safety of themselves and their family members.

We all want to be protected from the increasingly lawless and violent world around us. Being conscious of very real threats to our family’s safety, when we leave our home or when we are going to bed, we execute our security routines of making sure doors and windows are locked and outside lighting is turned on. Many install extra lighting, locks, and home security systems to deter intruders. Some install cameras to record intruders and aid in their capture.

Schools and businesses have greatly increased security measures to protect students and employees. Some offer security escorts to ensure the safety of their employees to and from their cars, especially if they work after normal business hours.

Parents, concerned for the safety of their children, organize community crime watch groups and work with police to watch out for threats to peace and safety in their neighborhood. Some buy pepper spray and handguns and permits to carry their weapons. Some, fearing the potential for extreme conditions, invest in elaborate survival training and equipment for themselves and their loved ones. They stockpile food and water, and a few build secure bunkers to weather apocalyptic conditions they believe may unfold.

There are a very few people who think we are living in the most peaceable and safe time in history, but the vast majority feel less safe than ever before. Our news media is filled with reports of violent criminal activities in our local communities: physical assaults, rapes, armed robberies, drug related gang violence; physical and mental abuses of children, women and senior citizens; in short, crimes of every description.

Meanwhile, armed conflicts, wars, ethnic and religious conflicts and violence rage on worldwide. Newscasters regularly inform us about grisly and horrific terrorist acts occurring in various countries around the world. Thousands, including innocent children, have been injured, maimed and killed in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other nations. Several million have fled as refugees to other countries.

The heartache, despair and emptiness in the faces of those who have lost loved ones, their homes and livelihoods is more than enough to make us sigh and cry in heartfelt sympathy for the victims.

There are reasons for the violence between peoples. Some blame religious and ethnic hatred. Some blame income inequality, poverty, food shortages and degradation and scarcity of water. Some blame pollution and global warming. Some blame over population and infectious diseases. And some blame the proliferation of armaments and chemical and nuclear weapons. Regardless of the causes, the violence, armed conflicts, and wars wage on and on. Violence and evil are everywhere.

Most calling themselves Christian were taught what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer, also called the Model Prayer. It was part of the instruction Jesus gave to the disciples in His sermon on the mountain. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus instructed them to pray “in this manner.” In verse 13 is the phrase: “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil” or “deliver us from the evil one” in many translations. In the conditions we find ourselves living in today’s world, we can certainly see the wisdom to include this statement in our prayers.

We need the protection and deliverance from evils in this increasingly unsafe, lawless, and violent world that only an all-powerful God can provide. For help related to this topic, you may find these telecasts enlightening: “What is True Christianity Really Like?” and “Keys to Answered Prayer.”