Why Do Christians Pray, “And Lead Us Not into Temptation, But Deliver Us from Evil”?
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Editor’s note: This is the eighth installment of a series on the Lord’s Prayer, line by line. The Rev. Campbell Markham is a Presbyterian minister in Perth, Australia.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” — Matthew 6:13 (ESV)
God placed Adam and Eve in Eden, a garden filled with delightful plants and trees, with as much food as they pleased. God gave them just one command:
“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:16-17)
The crafty serpent came and tempted Adam and Eve. First, he questioned the command: “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1).
Notice how the serpent twisted God’s command to make it sound harsher than it was: “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden.” This is how temptation begins—by questioning the fairness of God’s commands.
Temptation grows from doubting the consequences of sin.
The woman (over)corrects the serpent and repeats the warning that they would die if they ate of that tree (Gen. 3:2). Now the serpent outright refutes God: “You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). This is how temptation grows—doubting the consequences for sin. Surely nothing too bad will happen!
The serpent drives the temptation home by questioning God’s motive for the command: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). In other words, “God’s command is mean; he’s withholding good things from you!”
Knowing good and evil is not just about experiencing good and evil; it’s also about determining good and evil. The serpent was (falsely) offering Adam and Eve the right to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong.
We are tempted in the same way that Adam and Eve were.
God commands us to love him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are constantly and fiercely tempted to break God’s commands in the same way that Adam and Eve were. “Has God really commanded that?” “Nothing terrible will happen if you don't!” “God holds you back from good things!” “Decide for yourself what you should and shouldn’t do!”
In the face of such temptations, we are like bunnies in the jaws of the lion. How desperately we must pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”!
We take hold of the Savior who died the death that we deserved.
We pray first that our Father will deliver us from death, the penalty of sin. We richly deserve a thousand deaths. We take hold of the Savior who died the death that we deserved, that we might enjoy the life that he deserved.
We pray next that our Father will deliver us day by day from the power of sin. We know our sinful hearts and our weakness. We pray that he will shield us from temptations and trials that we are too weak to resist. By praying this powerful prayer, we place our entire hope for salvation into our Father’s hands.
