“And lead us not into Temptation, But Deliver us from Evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever”

After spending weeks together discussing the Lord’s Prayer, we’ve reached our last sermon of this series studying its depth of meaning. However, as we look at the closing phrase today, I would encourage you to not let this be the last time you absorb the Lord’s Prayer in all of its power and beauty. When we pray this prayer together on Sunday mornings, pause at the phrases the fill your spirit at that particular time. When you pray this prayer alone, let it lead you to dwell in the house of the Lord. Soak it in and be filled. Be sustained. Be led. 

The remaining part of the prayer before us this morning can really be broken into two parts. The first is, “and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” If we read this phrase too fast, we can be tricked into thinking that we are praying for God not to tempt us, but the book of James tells us that God is not the tempter; Satan is. We are really praying that we are protected from Satan, the wily one who is constantly trying to make us not trust our God and Father. 

The ironic this is, the more Satan tries to tempt humans, the more God overrides him with his power for redemption. Just look at scriptures. Think back to Job. How Satan asked God if he could bring calamity to Job’s life to prove that he only serves God because God so richly blesses him. God allows it, with the caveat that Satan cannot kill Job. But no matter what Satan did or how much his wife and friends tried to argue that Job must have offended God, he stuck to his deep devotion and trust to God. Even though he didn’t understand what was happening, he believed in God’s redemption. Satan didn’t get the upper hand. 

Or think of Sarah, a woman whose husband was called a friend of God. She yearned for years for a child, yet it wasn’t until she was well beyond child bearing years that servants of the Lord announced that she would bear a child, a son, on whom the nations would be built. What did she do? She laughed. Yet God came through on his promises. She and her husband learned to trust the Lord and lean not on their own understanding. 

When I read this part of the prayer, I think back to when my brothers and I were small. My parents were trying to wrangle three children under the age of three, and I was a free-spirited child, who tended to wander and run the wrong direction. So I had to hold my parents hand. Or be connected to the stroller. But in the close comfort of my parents, my hand clasped into theirs, I wasn’t tempted to stray. We are praying that God holds us close so we won’t be tempted by the Evil one.

But how exactly does Satan tempt us? The ways seem to be endless, which is why we need to fervently pray that Satan does not get a foothold. For some examples, look again to scripture. Think back to Paul and how highly he thought of himself. He proclaims that he was the Pharisee among Pharisees, the top notch of his class, well respected amongst his kin. Yet, all of his accomplishments and hastiness seemed to block him from hearing the call of God, until God had to literally blind him to get his attention. When we think too highly of ourselves we become deceived into thinking that we don’t need God. That we are the center of the universe. That we can do it on our own, which are all lies. 

Other times Satan tempts us by distracting us from God. A contemporary song, “If You Wanted Me” by Todd Agnew states,  now and then I'll admit I'm glad I'm not King David; Ruling over everything I see; 'Cause I think I've fallen for more than Bathsheba; Your creation's a temptation for me. If King David, a man after God’s own heart, could become tempted and fall into sin, so can we! We get swept up by the desires of the world, instead of the desires of the heart of God. And once we are distracted, things can spiral our of control so quickly, as our ears get clogged up and we can’t hear the voice of God. And our heart become hardened and we choose not to follow God’s ways. 

Another way Satan gets a foothold is causing mayhem amongst the body of Christ. A few weeks ago in the Parish Bible study we were discussing some of the things that can cause disunity in the body of Christ. When we forget that we need each other. When one thinks themselves to be more vital than another. When we argue and bicker. That is Satan trying to rip us apart, brothers and sisters. And all too often we let him succeed. 

But take hope! For in the midst of the many ways we can be tempted by the Evil One, we have a hope in Jesus Christ. For in Christ we have the power to pray that Satan not lead us into temptation and that we are delivered from evil. We can pray that prayer because Christ defeated death and Satan’s plan. We share in his victory, if only we ask for God’s guidance, strength, and help.

The second part of the prayer is the closing phrase, “For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever”. We’ve discussed earlier in the prayer what it means to pray for the Kingdom of God to come and reign amongst us. We come back to this phrase in order to remind us who is in charge. Not us. But God. We come back to this phrase so we can align our perspective with God’s. Not mine. Thine. 

I’ve shared many times before that I am a planner. And to a certain extent there is nothing wrong with planning for it allows us to prepare for what is ahead. But planning becomes a problem when we don’t submit our plans to God and try to make them happen no matter what the cost. No matter if they are God’s plan for that moment or not. 

I find rich meaning in the Message translation of this verse You, God, are in charge. You can do anything you want! You ablaze in beauty! Yes! Yes! Yes! We confess that our plans are feeble in the face of God’s greatness. We choose to lay our plans at his feet, come to him for strength, and give him all the credit. And sometimes that is hard. And sometimes we get so caught up on what we want that we forget this truth. But at the close of the prayer, Jesus puts God’s greatness at the forefront of our minds, just as he did at the beginning of the prayer.

God’s greatness is proclaimed through the Lord’s Prayer. Over the last several weeks we have discussed that our God is our loving Father, who wants to spend time with us. Whose name is holy, yet draws us near. We’ve prayed that God’s kingdom come and dwell among us. We’ve submitted our will to God’s, asking that his will be done. We’ve asked for our daily bread, that God provide for us and help us provide for others. We’ve remembered the grace and forgiveness of the cross that invites us to have the strength to forgive others. That God protect us from the wiles of Satan and that we remember that God is in charge. That God’s kingdom comes first in our lives. 

What huge petitions in such a short prayer. What power behind what Jesus taught his first disciples. May we pray this heart and with our lips, sinking into its rich promises, and sharing its power with the world. Dwelling in its meaning all of the day of our lives. Now and forever. Amen.