As we have worked our way through this great prayer given to us as a guide by the Savior, we have learned four important reasons why we should care about prayer:
1) Prayer leads us into worship
2) Prayer lines us up with God's will
3) Prayer lets us express our wants
Those three parts of the Lord's Prayer we have already discussed. The fourth area of the prayer is warfare.
Just looking at this last section of the prayer with a casual glance shows why it matters.
There is evil in this world that tempts us. The reason we are tempted by evil is that we have an evil nature within us. So, there is evil that surrounds us and it appeals to the sinful desires resident in the human nature.
And, there is an Evil One who attacks us, accuses us, and allures us toward sin.
So, the power of evil is two-fold and double trouble - there is a powerful person and there is a powerful pull.
Jesus said, "The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy - BUT I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10
So, we are torn between two natures and confronted by two opposing kingdoms. We are in the middle of a spiritual war between righteousness and evil. Both kingdoms are strong than us and one is stronger than the other.
The battlefields of this war are in the mind, in the spirit and in the will. Each of those have been sabotaged by the enemy to cause us to self-destruct.
This final phrase of the prayer remind us that the only hope we have for victory is to call in an ally who is stronger than our enemy. That ally is Jesus Christ, the Son of God Who became Savior of the world. He conquered the two most powerful weapons the devil could threaten us with - sin and death. Sin was conquered when Jesus bled and died on the cross to atone for sin and death was defeated at the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ!
So, when we pray, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one", we are choosing sides and calling in the One Who has already conquered and won the victory! When we pray this prayer are calling in the cavalry and the infantry and the artillary and the air force all wrapped up in One - Jesus!
You are engaged in a spiritual conflict with eternal consequences and an overwhelming enemy. There is no neutral territory and no treaties. Either you are being defeated or you are defeating the enemy in the power of God.
With prayer as your primary weapon, how can you afford not to pray?
Why would you not pray as Jesus taught you to pray?
Why risk defeat when victory is one prayer away?
No comments:
Post a Comment