In college, I dreaded pop quizzes. I had one professor in particular who loved to spring them on us. And if you were doing the reading and keeping up with your assignments, they usually weren’t that bad. But if you were like me and sometimes fell behind, they could be perilous. The test either revealed my strengths, or it exposed my weaknesses. It was moment of pressure that revealed who I really was.
Today we come to an interesting phrase in The Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” The Greek word for temptation here is “peyrasmos” and the core idea is of “a test.” It’s a pressure-filled test in life that reveals who we really are through suffering, hardship, persecution, and loss. For some, these life-tests reveal weakness of character which leads to sin and folly. In those cases, the “test” becomes more of a “temptation.” But for others, these life-tests reveal strength of character which results in perseverance. In those cases, the “test” is more of a “validation.” But either way, these tests in life are hard to face. Like the pop quizzes of my college days, tests are moments of pressure that press us to the core.
In this prayer, “lead us not into temptation,” we’re asking God to protect us from the pressures of the tests of life. We know ourselves to be weak and frail. Life’s pop quizzes are stressful. If there’s any way possible, we’d like to avoid the tests that might become temptations that lead to our downfall. If it is possible, let this cup pass. But if the tests of life must come, “deliver us from evil.” Father, keep us from falling and failing and faltering. Don’t let the tests of life take us down. Keep us faithful and true to the end.
Life is full of tests. Maybe you’re facing one today. This prayer reminds us that God is with us in the tests of life. He will never leave us nor forsake us. And our deliverance is in Him alone.
Remember, you are loved more than you know!
Pastor Philip, i was able to watch live some and YouTube other messages of “The Our FATHER” and use it in my quiet prayer time !!! I listened 2x to ur message on “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” w/ tears in my eyes and crying (since no one but me at my daughter’s house) !!! U made it clear to me that no one goes unaccounted for the evil done w/no repentance, because HE IS JUST—as Psalm 10 states!!! It’s a true fact that we relive in our minds those evils and we need to give it back to GOD each time, every time !!! I’ve made this a practice !!! The pain killers i was told to take before bed (after my shoulder surgery on May 13—which repaired 4 areas instead of one) gave me bad vivid dreams that kept me from sleep and made me nauseous!!! In those quiet mornings when no one is around, there was much time to reflect and talk and listen to my ABBA FATHER FOR HEALING (S P E M) and COMFORT, UNDERSTANDING, and FORGIVING besides reading my OUR DAILY BREAD !!! GOD also wanted me to be an eyewitness to what unequally yoked does to a believing spouse (my daughter Sabrina) and my grandsons
(11 & 12 yrs old) and those family members who r not saved—lies, deceiving words and actions, and much disrespect to me (because now i live w/them) coming from an unbelieving son n law and grandsons mimicking their Dad !!! Ur messages were timed for me when GOD MADE ME STILL !!!