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Deliver us from Evil

By Anita Mathias

When I try to pray while walking, or in the car, I use the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6 9-13) to organize my thoughts, and am often astonished again by its richness. Forgiving aught against any as a condition for receiving the Lord’s forgiveness, for instance.

“Do not bring us to the test,” the Lord instructs us to pray. Would he instruct us to pray this if testing were inevitable? Is it possible that one might be spared soul-wringing and heart-wrenching testing if one prays to avoid it?

And then, the lovely sentence, “Deliver us from evil.” Would Jesus instruct us to pray to be delivered from evil if he did not intend to deliver those who requested deliverance? So deliverance from evil is a strong probability for those who pray for it.

* * *

I am reminded of Jabez’s outrageous prayer,  “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. (1 Chron 4:10)

Be free from pain? What a huge prayer! And it was granted simply because Jabez asked.

I feel sad I have not asked more that I might not be led into temptation, not be brought to the test and that I might be delivered from evil and “be free from pain”. But these are prayers I will assiduously pray for the rest of my life.

Isn’t it scary to think that the life we lead might just bear a faint resemblance to the life we could have had if we prayed more?

Oh, what grace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

But it is never too late to ask God to wrap our lives in his protection. And I am going to ask him to right now!

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Filed Under: In which I play in the fields of Scripture Tagged With: Deliver us from evil, The Lord's Prayer

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Comments

  1. Lynda Alsford says

    March 14, 2013 at 8:53 am

    Thank you for this. I found it very encouraging. I  am just learning to understand fully who I am in Christ and what this means for my prayer life. Thank you for stimulating my thoughts on this further. God bless you. 

    • Anita Mathias says

      March 14, 2013 at 8:00 pm

      Thanks so much, Lynda, and welcome to my blog.

  2. Joy Lenton says

    March 14, 2013 at 8:39 am

    Grace itself is an outrageous concept for our human minds to grasp. This prayer from Jabez reveals the sheer simplicity and wonder of faith and grace in action. Such trust. Such amazing love. A beautiful reflection, Anita. These thoughts require further meditation. I think I’ll join you. Let’s dare to pray with outrageous believing faith that expects God to hear and answer in ways we cannot miss! Bless you for your ministry 🙂

    • Anita Mathias says

      March 14, 2013 at 8:02 pm

      Thanks much, Joy 🙂

  3. Don says

    March 13, 2013 at 7:04 pm

    “Outrageous” is indeed the word I am tempted to use for that prayer of Jabez. I have struggled to reconcile it with the rest of Scripture, especially Paul’s comment about sharing the sufferings of Christ, and many other verses. When I think back on the amazing things God has done to make something beautiful out of the brokenness in my life, how could I ask to go back to my previous state of blissful ignorance? God has arranged it so that the arrow of time cannot be reversed. He doesn’t erase my past, but redeems it. Making all things new does not mean that they are identical to the former things.

    And yet… there is a self-righteous, prideful part of me that rejects grace, in my mistaken thinking that I am doing something good in choosing to suffer unnecessarily. When I place myself on the altar instead of accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on my behalf, I’m taking the role of antichrist. So it’s good to be reminded of these parts of the Lord’s Prayer! Thank you, Anita, for another insightful essay.

    • Anita Mathias says

      March 13, 2013 at 11:25 pm

      In his Narnia books, C.S. Lewis repeatedly says, “All get what they seek.” I wonder if Jabez’s prayer ‘that I might be free from pain,” was granted because that is what he asked. “Whatever you ask in my name,….” “ask anything in my name.” I must admit I do, cowardly, ask, like Jabez “that I might be free from pain.”
      And, similarly, I wonder if we would have more protection over our lives if we prayed with faith to be delivered from evil. That is something else I want to pray regularly (please remind me God:-)

  4. Ron Haygood says

    March 13, 2013 at 11:15 am

    Wow! Love it Anita as always. I’m reading your blogs from across the “pond” in Anniston, Alabama. I frequently share quotes from your blog with my church as I preach. The last three paragraphs really stood out with me. Keep up the good work!

    • Anita Mathias says

      March 13, 2013 at 11:19 pm

      Oh, thank you so much for your encouragement, Ron!

  5. Holly Michael says

    March 13, 2013 at 2:46 am

    encouraging thoughts Anita. 

    • Anita Mathias says

      March 13, 2013 at 11:19 pm

      Thanks so much, Holly!

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
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#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
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England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
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Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
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#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
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How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
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And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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