Matthew 6:13 (NKJV)

Verse of the Day

Bible Commentary

Matthew 6:13 is a Bible verse from the famous prayer Jesus taught His disciples. Let’s take a look at the entire prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ¹⁰ Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. ¹³ And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

This was a very special prayer.

#1, Jesus prayed it. If anyone knew how to pray, it was the Son of God. He gave an example of a proper prayer.

#2, He told His disciples to pray in this way (Matthew 6:9). As Christians, we are the Disciples of Christ and we should pay careful attention to His instruction. There are so many things we can learn from it, but for today let’s focus on the ending statement.

We talked recently about how living in the world as a Christian is risky, with the darts of temptations flying at us from many different directions. Lord, do not lead us into temptation.

The devil is the master of deception. He knows how to slip things by us without us being aware. What looks like a perfectly good and pleasing thing can be rotten to the core. If we believe the lie and eat the fruit, then all hell breaks loose so-to-speak, and we never knew what hit us.

As we seek the Lord about our situation, He uncovers the truth. What we didn’t see before now becomes crystal clear, like a lightning bolt. Boom!

Unlocking the Truth – A Seasoned Veteran

These moments can send us to our knees, both in remorse as we discover the sin in our heart, and in gratitude when the lie of darkness gives way to the Light of Truth. In that moment, we come to know the Lord in His:

Mercy.

Healing.

Love.

The truth pushed out the lie. The dark fled when the Light shined upon it. Now we have a better understanding of His righteousness and where we went wrong, and we feel incredibly grateful that despite our sin, He was with us all along.

In His mercy, He used our mess-up to heal our heart. We savor the special bond of a Father/child relationship in its perfect and delicate design, as we gain knowledge of our Father’s heart and His abounding love for us.

The truth of this very intimate bond is always present, but the noise and darkness from the evil one is a very powerful force that distracts and prevents us from discovering it as long as he can. Lord, deliver us from the evil one.

We Must Arm Ourselves

The devil does everything in his power to keep us out of the Bible, out of church and any place where the truth of God’s love for us is revealed.

When the light of the truth shines into those dark places, our eyes are opened up to the temptations and strategies formed against us, and we’re better able to arm ourselves with the light of Christ. We become a “seasoned veteran” if you will.

Being a soldier of Jesus Christ is not easy, but it is very rewarding, particularly when we can use the difficult experiences in our lives to help others and communicate God’s love to them.

We can offer the comfort we have received from Christ when they are experiencing similar trials, or we can teach them how to avoid the pitfalls we weren’t able to escape.

The Greek meaning of the word “temptation” in Matthew 6:13 is: experience of evil, adversity.

Because we have experienced evil and adversity, we want those we love to be spared from it, especially our children, just as the Father desires for His children to be spared.

So as we bring this study of Matthew 6:13 to a close, let’s pray:

Father God, do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. We recognize and understand that Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. You alone are God, and we bow before You and praise Your Mighty Name. May the darkness of evil be exposed, so the Light of your perfect love can come in and fill all the empty places, forever. Save our children from the pitfalls we have experienced, and may the light of Jesus Christ shine upon them and before them all their days, so that they may personally know the abundant love of the Father. Thank You, Lord. Amen!

 

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