The final phrase of the prayer model that our Lord Jesus taught His disciples is a wonderful summary of the foundations of our relationship with our Father, to whom the prayer is addressed.

The Kingdom, Power and Glory Are His

The Kingdom that is His is the community into which the King calls all those He loves: His chosen Hebrew people (to be wholly consecrated and set apart to Him - a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation - Ex 19:6) and all who would be believers in Messiah Yeshua (a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation - 1 Peter 2:9).

It is a reminder that He is the King of the whole universe, of time and eternity, and of our lives; and that His purpose is for those who respond to His call (today – if you hear His voice) to come into His Kingdom to love and serve Him. Jesus told us 2,000 years ago that the Kingdom He brought is near at hand.

The Power that is His is a dynamic, life-giving power, brought to us by the dynamic, life-giving Spirit of God; it is abundant, and sufficient to fulfil all His purpose. It is a reminder that Jesus both has created and sustains His universe. This power is given to enable His disciples to bring all people into relationship with the Father by equipping them to share the Good News (gospel) of God's love for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jewish people and then for the Gentiles (Rom 1:16).

The Glory that is His is the awesome Presence of God, often expressed in Scripture as fire or cloud. It is an emanation of the Living God in various forms appropriate for His purpose, like when Isaiah experienced His Glory in the Temple, filled with smoke (Isa 6:4). The Hebrew word kvod signifies the weight of God's Glory. The time will come, when man's pride falls, that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord (Hab 2:14).

Jesus Himself was glorified on earth with the Glory that He had with the Father before the foundation of the world (John 17:5). But He lived on earth to glorify His Father (John 12:28) and the Father indicated that He would glorify His Son through His sacrifice on the Cross. In John's gospel, glory is often expressed through suffering. And so, the Saviour who suffered and died on the Cross is also the King of Glory (Ps 24:10).

Calling and Equipping

This beautiful prayer model begins with our acknowledging the nature and character of God, and with Jesus' call to new life through repentance and belief in Him (Matt 4:17; John 3:36). We may note that this call is into the Father’s Kingdom, not into the Church!

Through the Lord’s prayer we can express our worship (He is the one true God) and our desire to obey His will (He is our King), and receive all our daily needs. For the Kingdom is comprised of those who are poor in spirit (humble), strong in faith and consequently persecuted for righteousness' sake, who demonstrate their love by hearing and doing His word and seeking to be more like Jesus. For He is our goal in the Kingdom.

We cannot follow this path except by the power of His Spirit as the leading influence in our lives, so that others can see Him in our conduct. Fruitful disciples watch the Father, as Jesus did (John 5:19), and do what He directs, waiting upon Him and obeying His commands. For the power is His alone to give (Yours is the power) and not of us.

Like faith and works, prayer is always to be associated with action: to receive our daily needs we must give (even just thanks). To be forgiven, we must first forgive others. To receive protection and deliverance, we must protect others. But, always, the power to do this comes from Him. Again, Jesus is our model.

Reason to Rejoice

The prayer Jesus gave us calls us to seek to be rooted in the Kingdom, to avail ourselves of His power and to bring glory to His Name. In these times of change, let us therefore rejoice in what our promise-keeping God has given to us through His Son Yeshua, for it is eternal:

• His Kingdom, that He might dwell with us – Immanu-El 
• His Power, that we might proclaim His Kingdom and bring many into eternal life through Yeshua
• His Glory, that His beauty and life-giving grace may transform the world until it is truly full.

As Paul tells us, we are accepted in the Beloved, given an inheritance, and sealed with His Spirit, and this is all to the praise of His Glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14).

What a prayer model Jesus has given to us! Let us dig deep into it, and be thankful.

Author: Greg Stevenson

In the Complete Jewish Bible this is translated “For kingship, power and glory are yours for ever”.

These words stir in me a sense of triumph and victory, like being part of the victory shout in a winning team, or experiencing the glorious finale of a great orchestral symphony. It stirs again in me the desire to win through this race of life, to be in that number who are with Jesus when He returns to claim His throne. I truly do “want to be in that number when the saints come marching in!”

Jesus spoke quite a bit about the Kingdom of Heaven, describing it in parables. In Matthew 13:45 Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven as like a merchant on the lookout for fine pearls. On finding one very valuable pearl he went away, sold everything he owned and bought it. Are you outrageous and crazy enough to give everything you own to be a part of God’s Kingdom?

Looking at the parable the other way around, our Heavenly Father is so totally over-the-top crazy about you and me that He gave what was most precious to Him, Jesus, His only Son, as a sacrifice to redeem us to be a part of His Kingdom to come!

Thinking About Kingship

God’s power and glory are described on many occasions throughout the Bible, but it’s his kingship that I’ve thought about this week in a bit of detail.

Kingship belongs to our Heavenly Father to bestow on whom He wills. It’s a done deal!

He made an unconditional covenant with King David (2 Sam 7:16) that his kingdom would be made secure and set up forever. In a discussion with Jesus (Matt 22:42) the Pharisees were quite clear that the Messiah / Anointed one would be a descendant of David’s because of the various Old Testament prophecies. When asked by the Magi where was the new-born king of the Jews, King Herod checked and was told by the priests and Torah teachers to go look in Bethlehem (Matt 2:2).

The fisherman Andrew went searching for his brother Simon, told him “We’ve found the Messiah” and took him to Jesus (John 1:41). The written notice above Jesus on His execution stake stated “This is Yeshua, king of the Jews” (Matt 27:37).

Peter, addressing a crowd in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, spelt it out that Jesus was the awaited descendant of David, Lord and Messiah, having victory over death, now seated at Adonai’s right hand, all as prophesied (Acts 2:14-36).

John, in his book Revelation, shared a vision (Rev 19:11) of one sitting on a white horse, called ‘the Word of God’ (a name for Jesus that John uses at the beginning of his gospel), but also given the name ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’. He will lead Heaven’s armies to take back the rulership of the world. And Paul, in Thessalonians 4:16, describes similarly of Jesus coming down from Heaven “with a rousing cry”, after which we who have put our trust in this salvation will always be with Him.

Daily Decision

So the ultimate kingship, power and glory over everything…for ever, belongs to our Heavenly Father. But that leaves us each with a decision to be made daily, and here is where there is so often a battle with our old, prideful, selfish nature (why is it so hard at times?).

It’s the decision to submit everything in loving, trusting obedience…all of our thoughts, words and actions…to our most amazing, gracious Heavenly King.

Author: John Quinlan

It has been a real privilege over the last few months to sink deeply into the riches of the Lord’s Prayer and take time to dwell on its amazing truths. We come now to the final sentence, which rallies the disciple with eternal perspective, rightly giving God the last attention and all the glory.

As Clifford Denton intimated last week, this sentence explains and justifies everything that has preceded it – both the Prayer’s first section of worship and declaration about who God is, which puts His Kingdom and will up-front-and-centre, and its second section where we ask God for things for ourselves – provision, forgiveness, protection. Both sections are justified in this one final sentence; we declare and request, worship and ask, because the Kingdom, the power and the glory all belong to You, O Lord.

“Give us this day…for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory”

In pondering this this week, I have found that it’s somehow easier to connect this jubilant final sentence with the first part of the Lord’s Prayer than with the second. It makes sense to praise and worship God, and to cry out for His Kingdom to come (as in the opening sentences of the Prayer) if it’s all ultimately about Him, both now and forever.

But if it’s all about Him, how is that also reason to ask things for myself? How can I justify lifting personal requests to the Lord of all Creation, as in the Prayer’s second section, if it’s ultimately not about me at all?

1. We ask of God because He is our only true source of provision, forgiveness and protection.

We are taught to ask the Lord for what we need because it can all only come from Him – we cannot find what we seek anywhere else. He is our Creator, who has willingly and lovingly committed to provide for those in His Creation who will come under His care. Nobody else in Heaven, on earth or below the earth has the power and the authority to bestow these things to us. Not a crust of bread, nor an ounce of true security, can be obtained that is not given by God.

Thus, the final sentence of the Lord’s Prayer puts our personal needs and requests in perspective – that all we have comes from God and, ultimately, should flow back to Him as glory. Acknowledging this is an exercise in humility and deference – we cannot exist without Him. But having started off the prayer with the confident declaration that God is ‘our Father’, we can relax into His provision in peace, confident that He will not fail us.

2. We ask for ourselves that we might fulfil His calling.

When David cries out in the Psalms for protection from his enemies, he gives this reason: if he is overrun and killed, he will no longer be able to praise and worship the Lord (e.g. Ps 6:4-5, 30:9). If we go down to the grave, who will be left to lift His name in all the earth and make it known – that He might be glorified? In other words, if we are not adequately provided for and protected, and restored into right relationship with God through forgiveness, we will not be able to fulfil our ultimate purpose for existence: worship.

In this way, asking for our daily needs is not a selfish thing, but an enabling thing, which constantly holds in view this fundamental truth: that we exist not for our own glory, but for His. As such, we should lift up prayer requests for ourselves and others from a desire to serve Him well, rather than out of greed, vanity or fear. After all, Jesus reminded His followers that when we seek the Kingdom of God first, all the things we need will be given to us anyway.

3. We ask for ourselves because we are His children.

Finally, our personal prayer requests feed into God’s Kingdom, power and glory because when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and come into relationship with the Father, suddenly our needs and desires become His remit in a new and precious way. Yes, ultimately it is all about Him, but the wonder of the Gospel is that we are invited to somehow experience that glory ourselves, and be transformed by it, sharing in His joy, enjoying His victory and partaking in His love.

God has designed true worship to flow through and out of relationship with Him, for He is not a far-off God who looks down on us disdainfully, but a loving God who desires to draw near – to dwell in and with His people for all eternity. And so though His Kingship, power and glory sound like marvellous and lofty aspects of His majesty (and in ways they most definitely are), they are also to be revealed in His care for the tiniest aspects of our lives.

Come boldly before the throne of grace.

The beautiful symmetry of the Lord’s Prayer, starting and ending with God’s eternal character and majesty, teaches us to hold our own lives and desires not in a selfish way, but always in view of His vast and wondrous glory. Our daily cares and travails find their rightful place when we get that greater perspective of just how much it is all about Him.

In a rudderless consumer culture that threatens to tear itself apart with self-obsession, this is an anchor for the soul: that we have been redeemed for a far greater purpose than simply our own fulfilment. We are called to live for One who is infinitely greater and more worthy.

Let’s draw near and worship the Lord today, declaring that it is all about Him and that we exist for the praise of His glory. Let’s enjoy the riches of His grace – not with arrogance or a sense of entitlement, but with humility and amazement at the magnitude of what has been offered to us. For “how great is the love that has been lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1).

Author: Frances Rabbitts

The concluding sentence of the Lord’s prayer begins with the word for, one of those ‘big little words’ that punches above its weight. The word alerts us to the reason for the entire prayer. Let this prompt us to go over the entire prayer again this week. Let us ensure that every element is understood through the kingdom and authority of God now and forever. After all, this is the most important prayer we will pray in our earthly lives.

Jesus’s purpose in the prayer, in the midst of the entire Sermon on the Mount, is to bring us into relationship with our heavenly Father in humility and trust. It is a prayer constructed of few words, because it assumes deep and abiding faith that God knows the details of our lives.

We are to practise on this earth what will be true for all eternity. Our Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, is our Father, who cares for us intimately, is totally trustworthy, wanting our relationship, requiring openness and purity and wanting us to believe in Him and trust Him – totally. This is Kingdom life – a life of total submission.

We are members of His Kingdom, but it is His Kingdom.

Jesus Changes Everything

It sounds easy. But since the Fall, we are born into human flesh that is insecure, self-willed, proud, ambitious and possessive. We appoint our own kings and like it that way – anything but total submission to the God and Creator of all. That’s where we start, but Jesus (Yeshua) changes it all as he points us to the Father.

Thank you Father for sending us Yeshua to be the way to you and for sending us your Spirit to enable us to live out Kingdom life in submission to you.

Yet, discipleship is a process – we get there gradually; but we do get there if our hearts are willing.

So let’s read the entire prayer again this week, wrapped up in another prayer. Let us pray that the words we read will be truly embedded in our inner beings, that in every way our lives will be lived through faith in the one who gave us the prayer all those years ago and now is exalted to be our King.

Author: Clifford Denton

It's a very odd thought, when we read this verse, that Jesus taught us to pray for the Father not to lead us into temptation - as if God might even consider doing that!

The Greek word for 'lead' (eisphero) has a sense of being brought or carried inward, into ourselves. But looking to our Lord Jesus, who was tempted severely in all ways by satan (the tempter – Matt 4:3) we may see in this phrase a request: that when satan seeks to lead us into areas within us that he perceives as weak, our Father would help us to stand firm under the attack, and face the temptation, as Jesus did, with the truth of God's Word – “It is written…”, and to take James' advice (“Submit to God: resist the devil and he will flee from you” - James 4:7).

This is the way to victory over temptation, so that we do not sin. It is a vital prayer for protection – 'Lord, do not let us be carried into areas of weakness without the strength that You have provided to be overcomers'. God has given us full armour that we must put on daily, and He has promised that we would not be tempted beyond what we can bear, but will provide a way for us to stand up under it (to resist the temptation).

Tempting vs Testing

We are not invulnerable, and the enemy is aware of our areas of weakness. Paul (1 Tim 6:9) and James (1:2, KJV) warn of 'falling' into a trap of temptation as if it was something that might catch us unawares, something that we cannot prevent. But God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). The tempter is our adversary, the accuser, the one who deceives, as he did so subtly with Eve in the Garden, sowing doubt and rebellion through worldly sin, lusts and deception – “Did God say…?” (Gen 3:6).

In contrast, God tests or proves His people to keep them from sinning (Ex 20:20), and to look for commitment to love Him and to depend on His provision. Abraham was tested in his faith (Gen 22) through offering Isaac, and Israel was tested many times in the desert to humble them through hunger or thirst, to show them that man should live by His Word, and to prove what was in their hearts concerning obedience (Deut 8:2).

Even when they provoked Him, worshipping foreign gods (idolatry), He reminded them that if they sought Him with all their hearts and souls, they would find Him (Deut 4:25-31). When God tests people, he does so to build them up, to bring them back into the path He has prepared to bless them. All His ways are just and faithful (Deut 32:4).

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death (Prov 14:12). When satan tempts people, like he did Eve, it is to bring them down, and ultimately to kill them.

Victory and Opportunity

I had a Christian friend who, at a conference in San Francisco, was persuaded to join colleagues to go out for the evening. It was suggested that they should go to a bar with almost naked dancers. He thought hard how to get out of this, and said he would only be in San Francisco once and really wanted to photograph the Golden Gate Bridge for his children.

So they called him a 'spoil-sport' but changed their plans, went to the bridge and had a quiet meal afterwards. This wisdom led to victory over the temptation, and also became an opportunity to share about the holiness of God with colleagues.

Deliverance from Evil

We do also need to be delivered from the evil ways of those who submit to wickedness, especially subtle things like gossip, half-truths, and accepted worldly actions and images. This deliverance is also part of our Father's protection for us. If we are conformed to this world's ways, we are enemies of God and likely to be deceived by temptation into seeking riches, power, reputation or selfish lifestyles independent of God – all idols that replace the holy nature of God in our lives.

Many have chosen the evils of corruption or violence to achieve their goals. Along with continuing 'normal' human activities that exclude God, these are features characteristic of the days of Noah, that Jesus commented on as evidence of the days before His return. While there is much good in the world, and compassion for those in need (as we saw following the Grenfell Tower tragedy), we can see evil, rebellion and wickedness increasing sharply in recent decades. We do need to be delivered (Greek rhusai, rescued) from the evil one also.

Choose to Stand in the Lord

God is not mocked. Faced with temptations, like our Lord Jesus, we have a choice. In His love and mercy for His Creation, He has given guidance, instruction, and full armour against the dark powers of this world that tempt us, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12-18) so that we can be strong in the Lord, and stand our ground under attacks of temptations and trials of many kinds.

We need His strength in these end days before our Lord returns, and He calls us again to be witnesses to Him, but in His strength, His provision, and under His protection. Thank you, Abba. 

Author: Greg Stevenson

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” in the Complete Jewish Bible translation reads “And do not lead us into hard testing, but keep us safe from the evil one” (Matt 6:13).

Whilst there is overlap in the meaning of these two interpretations, ‘hard testing’ does give different connotations to ‘temptation’. I think that in accepting both interpretations together, a fuller understanding of this prayer may be gained. I have personally found the coming of times of hard testing to result from falling into temptation and I think the following scriptures bear this out.

Times of hard testing would have been all too familiar to Jesus’ listeners. They were currently under the heavy yoke of Rome and would have known their Tanakh (Old Testament) history which recounts many other such times of subjugation.

When Israel entered the Promised Land, God promised them safety from their surrounding enemies, in return for their trusting obedience (Deut 12:10). The books of Joshua and Judges recount Israel’s partial obedience and the limited times of rest and safety that they gained from their enemies. They also tell of the times that Israel back-slid and were taken into times of hard testing. From the crisis they found themselves in they cried out to God, who then sent a Judge to deliver them from the enemy and set them on the path of seeking God again.

Gideon

The story of Gideon might have been a favourite.

In Judges 6:1, “…the people of Israel did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective, so Adonai handed them over to Midian for seven years”, a falling into temptation resulting in a time of hard testing.

Then in v6, from their place of discouragement Israel cried out to Adonai, who responded first by sending a prophet who told them why God had set the Midianites on them - because they were fearing the gods of the land instead of paying attention to Adonai. In v11, the angel of Adonai raised up Gideon, a timid young man, and there follows the story of how Gideon learned to trust and obey God, bringing deliverance to Israel from the Midianite enemy.

Saul

Although the story of Saul ended in tragedy, he started well, giving us an enactment of both the hard testing and deliverance parts of this prayer.

Again, Israel were in a time of back-sliding. During that bit of time in 1 Samuel 11 between when Saul had been appointed king and his actual coronation, is the account of Israel’s Ammonite neighbour besieging Jabesh Gilead, a part of Israel east of the Jordan. Their King Nachash’s condition for a treaty with the Jabesh Gilead men was that all their right eyes be gouged out, bringing disgrace on all Israel. Saul, filled with the Spirit, was Adonai’s instrument of deliverance from the enemy, from evil.

Messiah

With the deliverance part of the prayer in mind, Jesus’ listeners would also have been asking the question ‘Is Jesus the prophesied Deliverer, the awaited Messiah?’

Before Jesus’ birth Zechariah had prophesied: “Adonai…has visited and made a ransom to liberate his people by raising up for us a mighty Deliverer (Yeshua)…that we should be delivered from our enemies and from the power of all who hate us” (see Luke 1:68-71).

Later Paul identifies the Deliverer: “…although I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me!...What a miserable creature I am! Who will rescue me from this body bound for death? Thanks be to God (he will)! – through Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord!” (Rom 7:21-24).

Temptation, Testing and Deliverance

So, where does this lead me?

As years pass by I have become more aware of my own weaknesses. I call them my ‘Achilles’ heels’. I have been aware many times that if not for my Heavenly Father’s protection, I would have walked willingly into such temptations, just like a lamb to the slaughter. I have also gone through times of hard testing.

A daily prayer that has grown from these times is that my Heavenly Father will protect me and my family, both from the attacks and deceptions of the enemy and also from our own foolish, sinful ways.

Another relevance that I see from this prayer is that for a number of years several of us have sensed, from God we believe, that times of hard testing are drawing near to our nation, for which we need to prepare. For this the Complete Jewish Bible interpretation might be written “Protect us if we find ourselves in such times of hard testing, keeping us safe from the evil one.”

Author: John Quinlan

N.B. I just found out this morning that it was the men of Jabesh Gilead who, upon the deaths of Saul and his sons, risked their own lives to retrieve and give an honourable burial for the bodies, no doubt in gratitude to their deliverers. May our own gratitude to our great Deliverer Jesus lead each of us to risk all for Him!

Temptation and evil: two things every Christian, justifiably, would probably like to avoid! But Jesus gives us a different request to offer up to the Father regarding each of these issues: that we would be led away from temptation, and that we would be delivered from evil. This use of different wording is, I believe, deliberate.

Take a Different Path

Let’s take temptation first. In requesting that we not be led into temptation, we are asking God to enable us to walk a completely different path, in an opposite direction. Temptation is something we need to flee at all costs, for “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt 26:41).

This is illustrated vividly in Proverbs 5, where the tempting adulteress appears, with lips that “drip honey” and words that are “smoother than oil” – but in the end she is “bitter as gall”. The warning is clear: “Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house” (Prov 5:8). And in the previous chapter: “Do not set foot on the path of the wicked, or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way” (Prov 4:14-15).

By way of contrast, the wise father instructs his son:

I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble…The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day…Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or to the left. (Prov 4:11-12, 18, 25-27)

So, temptation is an enticing pathway – but one that leads us off course, into sin and towards death. James writes in his epistle that God does not tempt anyone, but that we are tempted when our own evil desires drag us away and entice us towards sin (James 1:13-15).

Likewise, Jesus instructed His disciples to “Pray that you will not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:40). So should we, as we pray the Lord’s Prayer, ask God in His mercy to protect us from our own weaknesses and lead us on the Highway of Holiness (Isa 35:8) in obedience and truth.

Victory in Battle

The injunction about evil is similar, but slightly different. We ask “deliver us from evil” – not “lead us not into evil”! God does not promise us a life free from evil! But He does desire to deliver us through it, whether this means physically or spiritually, outwardly or inwardly, eternally or in this life.¹

When the Children of Israel inherited the Promised Land, they did not inherit a land that was empty and dormant, awaiting colonisation. They inherited a land where other tribes and peoples were already established – and it was God’s will that they be replaced. Before the Israelites even arrived, they faced unprovoked attacks (e.g. by the Amalekites), leading to several battles through which God’s mighty deliverance was displayed.

In other words, God’s people had to undergo difficulties – and they still have to today. We are not called to flee evil in the same way that we are to flee temptation (though of course we are not to seek evil out either - we should engage only on God’s terms, with His wisdom, protection and armour). Sometimes we are called to go and fight – and sometimes the battle comes to us, whether we like it or not. The only choice we are given is: fight or flee.

God’s Desire to Rescue

Hopefully this distinction that Jesus makes can help us today as we pray into and seek to respond to all sorts of difficulties and challenges. But, despite their distinction, the injunctions “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” are still connected – still part of the same sentence and seemingly flowing into one another.

Herein is a great encouragement for us all: sometimes, despite our best efforts, we do get enticed into temptation. We fall foul of our fleshly weaknesses and become ensnared. But even in that place of great evil, where all our strength fails, there is still hope. Jesus Himself instructs us to cry “Deliver us!” and we can be sure that God, in His great mercy, never fails to answer the heart-felt cry of a loved one that has stumbled or become trapped.

Author: Frances Rabbitts

Notes

1 There is a time when believers are deliberately not delivered from evil - when their hard-heartedness, pride and wilful sin leaves God no other choice but to allow them to be subjected to a deal of suffering in order to bring them to repentance (e.g. 1 Cor 5) – but that is another topic.

The goal of a disciple of the Lord Jesus is a close walk with God. This walk is led by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14) and is the privilege of our being sons of God. We are to learn how to discern the guidance given by the Holy Spirit and respond in trust and obedience.

No wonder therefore that we need to be sure that we will not be led into the temptation of the evil one or fall into his evil hands in any way. How important it is that we can walk with God, secure in the understanding that we will be safe from our spiritual enemy, totally protected?

Avoiding the Enemy’s Lies

Having said that, we might wonder why we should ever think otherwise. Human logic might convince us that God could lead us into temptation, possibly to test us and strengthen us. In being given these words as a part of the Lord’s prayer, however, our answer is that it is not God’s way to lead us thus. If we are tempted, it is satan who is at work. He will certainly play on any weakness of the flesh, but we can be confident that this is not where God led us. God may well test us, but He does not tempt us – there is a difference!

This is why, in Philippians 4:8, Paul urges us to think only on things which are good.

Perhaps some of us have behaved differently from this, taking satan on in ways that we were not led by the Holy Spirit to do. So let us take the opportunity this week to put this matter right before God. After all, if we have been fed lies by satan, who may have drawn us away from the path of the Spirit of God, it is vital to get out of that web. Remember that satan is very cunning, working through lies, playing on immaturity and misinterpreting Scripture.

Overcoming Temptation

Yet, there is another point to consider. When the Lord Jesus included this section of the prayer, could He have been recalling the time when, following His baptism, the Spirit of God led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt 4:1)? We see from this incident just how cunning satan was – the same satan who cunningly tempted Adam and Eve.

Frankly, if we had been there instead of Jesus, we may well have been deceived by satan’s clever twisting of Scripture. This is the sort of temptation that Jesus does not want us to endure. The victory of Jesus over satan began in the wilderness and was completed on the Cross. Therefore, we need not go through this sort of temptation now that the victory is secure.

How gracious of the Lord to give us this prayer that, if prayed in faith, ensures that we can walk securely with him on account of this great disarming of satan.

Author: Dr Clifford Denton