The Lord’s Prayer, Part 6 of 6

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

This is the final part of our deep dive into The Lord’s Prayer. Links for Parts 1 through 5 are provided below.

Part 1          Part 2        Part 3          Part 4          Part 5

We conclude with Matthew 6:13, which says: “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”[1]

For me, that first phrase is the most troublesome line in The Lord’s Prayer, for on the surface it seems to contradict what James says in James 1:13: “No one is to say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” But as I pointed out in a previous blog post, the true meaning of Matthew 6:13 is closer to “do not allow us to enter into a situation in which we would be tempted to sin.” So it would be like praying, “do not let us be tempted.”

As with Jesus in the wilderness, sometimes the temptation comes from Satan.[2] And sometimes, as with Paul, the temptation comes from our own sinful nature.[3] Either way, we are praying that temptation not come our way, lest we give in to it.

Yet if temptation does come our way, we can take comfort in what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13:

No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

The second phrase in Matthew 6:13, “deliver us from evil,” can also be translated, “deliver us from the evil one”—that is, from Satan. Either way, the meaning is pretty clear. It is a plea that we be saved from evil in all its forms and in whatever way it manifests itself. Perhaps most of all, it is a plea to be saved from the evil within ourselves that would lead us away from God.

[1]. Traditionalists will recognize that I have not discussed the language that appears at the conclusion of The Lord’s Prayer in so many churches: “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.” Those words are not found in the earliest manuscripts for either version of the Lord’s Prayer contained in the Gospels (Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4). The words were apparently added to Matthew 6:13 by later copyists. The language is similar to that of 1 Chronicles 29:11: “Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion, Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.”

[2]. See Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13.

[3]. See Romans 7:14-25.