“In the Presence of Our Enemy”

Matthew 6:13

From Psalm 23 (KJV): Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of mine enemies.

I Peter 5:8b: Like a roaring adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.

Matthew 6:13, paraphrased and amplified: Do not submit us to a time of testing, but rescue us from the Evil One. Lead us away from the temptations to sin that assault us from all directions, especially those that arise from our own sinful hearts. By your providential grace, may it be that our faith will not be put to the ultimate test. If in our flawed humanity we give in to temptation, please deliver us from sinning as quickly as possible. If our faithful discipleship brings us to a time of ultimate choices, empower us to choose only that which is your will.”

[prayer]

Allow me to stipulate the following: One: sin is real. Two: the Devil is our Enemy. Three: evil exists. Four: there is a spirit of anti-Christ alive and at work in the world. Five: temptation is unavoidable. Six: the time of tribulation is now; it started the moment our risen Lord ascended into heaven.

We live in a sinful world. We are ourselves sinful people. We are at war with what Paul calls the powers and principalities. These are tangible as well as spiritual. Every government, every culture, and every human institution – including the Church – has been infiltrated by demonic forces. There is no escape from evil. It is all around us; it is within us.

We are all tempted to sin. In ways great and small we have all given in to temptation. Every day, often every moment, we are confronted with opportunities to either do good or do evil – to choose God’s will or to follow our own misguided wishes. The Devil and all the powers and principalities he controls and directs don’t like it when we choose God’s will. Faithfulness often comes with a price. A day is coming when the time of tribulation that began with Christ’s ascension will confront us with ultimate choices – eternal choices – either for God or for the Devil.

The final petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil,” has two major components. The first asks God not to test our faithfulness. It asks God to not let us drift into highly tempting situations; to keep us safe from ourselves as The Message puts it. It also asks God to not bring us to times of ultimate testing, times in which our choices have life or death implications – eternal implications. By praying it we are asking that it not be God’s will that we live through that coming time of ultimate tribulation.

The second component of the petition operates on several levels. We are asking God to lead us back onto the paths of righteousness when we do stray into sin. We’re asking God to empower us to better deal with temptation. We are asking God to protect us from any and all forms of evil. We are asking God to deliver us from that roaring, prowling, life-devouring entity that we call the Devil – Satan – the Adversary – the Evil One – the Enemy.

Why did Jesus teach those first disciples to pray this prayer? Better than anyone else he was aware of their weaknesses and frailties. He knew they would face trials, tests, and temptations. He knew that they would undergo tribulation for his sake. He had himself struggled mightily with the Devil’s temptations, so he knew what lay ahead for them. He also knew that they would experience those moments of foolish human pride when they would think themselves above temptation. This prayer – this petition – is a lesson in humility. It reminded them that their only salvation from sin, evil, and temptation was their gracious and merciful Father God. It reminded them that it was God not they who was in control.

Why have we been taught to pray this prayer? Our Lord Jesus knows how weak and frail we are, how susceptible we are to temptation’s siren call. He knows that we live our lives in an anti-Christian world. He knows all too well those powers and principalities against which we battle daily. He knows that we are surrounded by wickedness. He knows the Devil intimately. He has dealt with him in his various forms face to face. He knows how pretty and delusional a picture Satan can paint of evil. He knows that the Devil knows and targets all our points of vulnerability: our fears, anxieties, angers, and longings.

He knows how proud and arrogant we can become in our moments of supposed self-sufficiency. He knows how self-righteous we can be. Just as he knew those earliest disciples’ need for humility, so too does he know our need for the same. “Lead us not into temptation,” is a reminder that without God’s guidance, it is in the direction of temptation that we will surely head. The old joke about lead me not in to temptation; I can find it all by myself isn’t all that funny. It is frighteningly sad in its truthfulness.

“But deliver us from evil,” is a reminder that without the power and protection of God’s Holy Spirit, we cannot defeat evil; we cannot overcome those powers and principalities against which we battle. Apart from God we are easily devoured victims of that roaring lion we call the Devil. Apart from God we have no spiritual armor with which to protect ourselves from the Devil’s attacks. Without God we are totally helpless in the presence of our Enemy.

The Lord, however, is our Good Shepherd. Our prayers for direction and protection are answered as he provides for our needs, leads us to safe places, and restores our battered spirits. He answers our prayers as he guides us along the paths of righteousness. In the deepest, darkest valleys of temptation, discouragement, and evil’s seemingly overwhelming attacks he is with us. With him beside us we do not have to fear evil. Our shepherd is greater than anything the Devil can throw at us. He is our source of comfort and peace. In the very presence of our Enemy he keeps us safe from harm. Goodness and mercy surround us within the protective embrace of our caring Shepherd, of our loving Father.

With the opening words of our denomination’s “Brief Statement of Faith,” we are able to boldly proclaim that “In life and in death we belong to God.” According to the 139^th Psalm there is nowhere we can go that God is not. There is no darkness that can hide us from him. Through our life’s journey and beyond we are safe in his hands. We need not fear the future for it is in God’s hands. God has known and loved us since forever. We were under his protection long before we were born.

Where can we go from his Spirit? Nowhere. Where can we flee from his presence? Nowhere. God our Father, the Lord our Shepherd, is always there for us. Our prayers do not land on deaf ears. Our supplications never go unheard. By the power of his Spirit God hears and understands even those prayers we cannot put into words, those prayers that we can’t even articulate in our hearts.

If God is for us, who can be against us? Nobody. Who or what can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus? Nobody! No person, no situation, no power or principality. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Not sin, not death, not evil. Nothing demonic or angelic. Nothing of this earth or beyond this earth. Nothing in heaven. Not the foulest creature from the deepest, darkest corner of hell. If God is for us, nothing can be against us.

And God is for us. In Jesus Christ he has taken our sin upon himself that it might die with him on the cross. In Jesus Christ he has overcome the most powerful attacks of humanity and hell. In Jesus Christ he has shattered forever the bonds of sin and death. In Jesus Christ resurrection is not just some pipe dream; it is a reality.

As resurrection people we have been given the power and authority to resist evil. As resurrection people, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can turn away from temptation. We need not feel threatened by any power or principality, be it spiritual or tangible. As resurrection people we have a Father to whom we can pray, “Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil,” knowing that our prayer will be answered.

Our Lord has surely prepared a place for us in the presence of all our enemies, including that age-old Enemy of God and humanity we know as the Evil One. Amen.