After praying for the forgiveness of our sins in the Lord’s Prayer, we seek protection from future sin.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one. (Matthew 6.13)
I use the New Revised Standard Version for the Bible passages in my blog articles. You may be more familiar with the Lord’s Prayer stated in the King James Version. Why do the two versions differ?
First, we need to note that both translations convey the idea that followers of Jesus are aware of the need for God’s help and protection in the face of evil or the devil’s desire to lead us astray.
The Greek word can be translated as either “testing” or “temptation.” Translators shy away from “temptation,” because of a verse in James.
No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one (James 1:13).
We know that the Spirit led Jesus to a time of testing in the wilderness (Matthew 4.1-11), and that God likewise tested his people in the wilderness.
Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments (Deuteronomy 8.2).
There is a clear difference between testing and tempting. God tests us to draw us closer to Him and to improve our character. Satan tempts us to draw us away from God and to ruin our character.
We are all going to face tests. That is part of God’s plan for us. However, knowing our weakness, we ask God to lead us away from times of testing.
Evil or Evil One
Once again, the Greek text can be read as “evil” or “evil one.” It is possible that when we pray this prayer, we are asking to be led away from the evil one because the root of all evil stems from him.
Additionally, we find the evil one tempting Jesus in the wilderness.
When I pray this prayer, I ask God to deliver the world from evil. I know that evil stems from the evil one, but I broaden it out to include the influences of the world system, human failure, as well as devilish enticement to wrong.
The Traditional Ending
Most of us are familiar with the traditional ending of the Lord’s Prayer that is found in the King James Version, but not in modern language translations of the Bible.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
While this ending to the prayer is not part of the latest discovered manuscripts that is reflected in modern Bible translations, it is a perfect ending to the prayer.
Rudy Ross and I agree that we do well to include it in our prayers.
Comment on Forgiveness
After the prayer, there is a further comment on the subject of forgiveness. We will be interested to note the number of times that Jesus brings up forgiveness in his teaching. It indicates the importance he places on that vital part of our spiritual life.
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6.14-15).
These verses help us interpret what is meant by “debts” in the Lord’s Prayer. To be forgiven of our sin debt is to be forgiven of our trespasses – the times when we intentionally cross the line in our relationship with God.
Rudy Ross understands trespass to involve iniquity. It begins in the inner self. I think Rudy’s right. What we think about and what we meditate on eventually becomes behavior.
Praying the Lord’s Prayer
While our study of the Lord’s Prayer concludes today, our learning about it never truly ends. As we use this prayer as a guide for our prayers, reciting the exact words Jesus gave us, or using it as a bridge to connect with God, it will become increasingly valuable in our lives.
The key is to make it a regular part of our prayer practice.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 