Deliver Us From Evil | Rediscovering the Lord's Prayer | Episode 10

Is the Lord's Prayer just a safe, comforting ritual, or is it something far more meaningful? Pastor Jim Thomas explores the petition: "Deliver us from evil", and encourages us to recognize prayer as a means God uses to shape and transform His people.

This study invites us to look both outward at a fractured world and inward at our own vulnerable hearts, offering a path to becoming so captivated by God's light and beauty that darkness loses its hold on our lives.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

So we're looking line by line at the Lord's Prayer. It's the most well-known prayer and the most frequently prayed prayer in the history of the world. And so if we want to learn how to pray, the Lord's Prayer is worth giving our attention to, and it's worth praying with sincerity and regularity. As Frederick Biekner once put it, we do well not to pray the Lord's Prayer lightly. It takes guts to pray it at all. To speak those words is to invite the tiger out of the cage, to unleash a power that makes atomic power look like a warm breeze. I think Bieckner was right there. So one more time. Let's invite the tiger out of the cage. Let's open ourselves to the transforming power of God as we approach him through prayer with the Lord's prayer. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen and amen. So today we want to ponder and look a little close more closely at the line, deliver us from evil. And again, this is one of those lines in the Lord's Prayer that I've always kind of run right over without giving it much thought. Maybe you have too. And yet it does come quite quickly for all of us to cry for God's delivering help whenever we're in the face of evil, especially when we're aware of our own vulnerabilities and our own needs, to evil outside of us, and then to our own failed attempts at self-salvation and the evil that lurks inside of us as well. So here we see that the person who prays forgive us our sins and our trespasses or our debts about their past, who has indeed received God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness, is also eager to be delivered from the tyranny and threat of any future evil. Oh, I want that to be an honest expression of my own heart. Jesus teaches us to pray, deliver us from evil. And at least three things are being said right there. Jesus is straightforward, clear, unequivocal about the existence and the reality of evil. Secondly, Jesus is clear about how evil is in pursuit of those who follow him. That's why he teaches us to pray, deliver us from evil. And three, Jesus wants us to know that if we're his followers, and if we're ever to avoid evil at all, we will need to seek outside help, help from God Himself to deliver us from evil. We can't do this on our own. So I can hear some of you thinking, and some of you are asking questions already, and that's good. Some of you took a philosophy course or an ethics course somewhere along the way, and you're wondering, is there such a thing as evil? If so, what is evil? And where did it come from? And what's the nature of evil? Well, there are a lot of questions about evil and its origin and its its nature, all of that. Um and in as short a time as I have in this podcast, I'm not gonna have time to articulate or even attempt to explain or unpack very much of that. We really want to focus on the Lord's Prayer here. So, as to the reality and the nature of evil, I'm gonna stand with Jesus. I'm pretty certain we all know it as well. When we see evil, we know it. And whether that is in an epic novel or a movie about good versus evil, or whether it shows up in our news feed because of some heinous act of violence, if we have any kind of conscience or moral capacity at all, we simply cannot deny the reality, the existence, and the manifestations of evil. The more obvious forms of evil are seen in public events and acts that we hear about or read about in the news or online. The more subtle forms of evil exist in the shadows of each human heart, ours included. And if we're Bible-believing Christians, we do well to acknowledge our own capacity for depravity, our own capacity for evil. G.K. Chesterton once observed this. He said, certain new theologians, and remember he's writing a long time ago, um, turn of the 20th and 21st century, certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of the Christian theology which can really be proved. They essentially deny human sin, which they can see in the street. That's from his book Umrthodoxy, the chapter called The Maniac, a really important book to me personally over the years, in my sort of uh coming to understand what's going on in the world, what was going on inside of myself, and especially in terms of my mind and understanding some of these kinds of things. Chesterton was really, really helpful to me. Um more recently, and by the way, I I think that that quote there really is important. Um he's saying essentially, this origin, this thing called original sin is so obvious. It's it's it's obvious enough that he calls it the only part of the Christian faith that can actually be proved because you can actually see it in the street. And I always amend Chesterton's quote to say, and also in the mirror. Um more recently in 1973, and that goes back a few years even from when I'm recording this, but more recent than Chesterton, the Russian writer and dissident, Alexander Solchenitsyn, published his famous and important book, The Gulag Archipelago, and in it he wrote this the line separating good and evil passes not through states nor between classes nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart and through all human hearts. So Solchinitz and Chesterton, the Bible, Jesus, all agree. And Jesus teaches us to pray, deliver us from evil. Such an honest request the Lord Jesus has given us. It's to acknowledge that we need help, that we can't save ourselves from evil, that we need to be delivered from evil. We will see darkness and evil all around us, and some of us are even aware of how it sneaks around in and smothers our own hearts and minds, our souls. Lord, deliver us from evil. Eugene Peterson said the vocabulary of salvation is extensive. Save, deliver, ransom, redeem, help, restore, heal. That's such a great, great quote. And it is indeed the language of salvation, and it is indeed extensive. I need that kind of rescue, that kind of redemption. I once heard someone say that most prayers can be reduced to one of two one-word utterances, either help or thanks. I probably pray the first one way more than the second one. Maybe you do too, but let's purpose to change that today. And as you interact with others, let's talk about the many ways God has saved us, rescued us, restored us, and delivered us from the darkness and evil in this world and from the darkness that lurks around in our own souls. Truly, the Lord is our salvation. Lord, deliver us from evil. Now, um, one little side note, some English translations actually say deliver us from the evil one. They put a definite article, the T-H E. It's in there, actually. Um, and I don't want to make too much out of this, uh, but some of you might have that English translation, so I think it's worth at least addressing it. Which one is it? Is it deliver us from evil or deliver us from the evil one? Um was Jesus teaching us to pray to be delivered from the evil that's all around us, uh, or from the work of the evil one sometimes when he uh comes after us and as the Apostle Peter tells us, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Um may I suggest that it's not either or, but perhaps it's both and I think that's probably the case. Um scholars from Duke University, William Willeman and Stanley Hauerwas, have written a book on the Lord's Prayer. And uh they say this: so when you pray to be saved, to be delivered from the test, you are acknowledging that you are not in control of your faith, that there really is something in the world worth resisting, that this world and its rewards are not enough, and that you answer to some greater power than that which the world bows before. That's from their book, Lord Teach Us, the Lord's Prayer in the Christian Life. I agree with them. Uh there is a power at work in the world, it is an evil power, uh, and it has access to our minds and hearts to entice us, to tempt us, not only to commit acts of sin, but to have thoughts that are sinful, to speak words that are sinful. So, Lord, deliver us from the evil that is in the world, yes. Um and all of the evil perpetrated by others in this world, but also Lord, deliver us um and and and set us free from the influence of the dark forces at work in our own hearts and minds. Um protect us, Lord. Keep us free from the um evil that is uh taking place in our world. I I think of many within the sound of my voice right now that might be struggling and wrestling with some impact that evil acts of others have had on their lives. Lord, free them from that, I pray. Deliver them from that, Lord. And for all of us, each and every one of us, no matter what our age or stage in life, deliver us from the evil that seeks to shadow our own hearts, to cover us in darkness. May we be so captivated by your light, your goodness, your beauty that no evil or ugly object, thought, word, or deed is given a split second of our attention today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Thank you for listening to today's episode of Timeless Truth. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss future episodes. Wherever you are in your walk of faith, we're glad you joined us today. And we hope this conversation encouraged, challenged, or inspired you. At the Village Chapel, we believe God's word is unique in its source, timeless in its truth, broad in its reach, and transforming in its power. To find more resources or support our ministry, visit the Villagechapel.com.