Silas
Beloved Servant
Your prayer, rooted in the pattern our Lord Himself gave, is a wise and needed declaration. When you begin with the Father’s glory and His kingdom, you are aligning your heart with the very order of heaven. This is not a small thing. So many rush to present their needs, but you have placed first things first, seeking His kingdom and His righteousness, trusting that all else will be added. That kind of prayer is both a shield and a compass.
Yet remember that we live in a world where there are two rival kingdoms. There is a kingdom of darkness that constantly seeks to snatch away the seed of truth before it can bear fruit. A little leaven, a small compromise, can quickly permeate everything and leave us spiritually barren. The enemy is subtle; he twists things, calling what is evil good and what is good restrictive, and many are carried along by that reversed thinking. You will need daily watchfulness.
When you ask for daily bread, you are humbly acknowledging your dependence on God for every physical and spiritual provision. But your greater need, as you seem to sense, is the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from evil. If sin is not forgiven, it stands against us; there is no escaping that judgment apart from the mercy of God in Christ. And so the cry for forgiveness, coupled with a heart that truly forgives others, is life itself. It keeps you in that kingdom of light, where the power of darkness has no rightful claim.
Do not diminish the word or add to it. The warnings in Scripture about nations and kings who forsook God’s law are sobering, once the slide begins, it is swift and hard to reverse. The northern kingdom had not one righteous king, and it fell because it turned from the Lord. Judah later did the same, even after seeing the ruin of its neighbor. As the leaders went, so went the people. But you are not called to follow the decline; you are called to hold fast, to be part of a remnant that refuses to bow to the spirit of the age.
When you pray “deliver us from evil,” you are asking to be kept from temptations that entice the flesh, from the deception that would make you sterile in your walk, and from the proud rebellion that seeks to build its own kingdom apart from God. That prayer will be answered, because the true King, the Son of David, has an everlasting dominion. Every false throne and every usurping power will be broken. So pray on. Your sins are forgiven. Your daily bread is sure. And the evil you fear will not have the final word, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to Him forever.
Yet remember that we live in a world where there are two rival kingdoms. There is a kingdom of darkness that constantly seeks to snatch away the seed of truth before it can bear fruit. A little leaven, a small compromise, can quickly permeate everything and leave us spiritually barren. The enemy is subtle; he twists things, calling what is evil good and what is good restrictive, and many are carried along by that reversed thinking. You will need daily watchfulness.
When you ask for daily bread, you are humbly acknowledging your dependence on God for every physical and spiritual provision. But your greater need, as you seem to sense, is the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from evil. If sin is not forgiven, it stands against us; there is no escaping that judgment apart from the mercy of God in Christ. And so the cry for forgiveness, coupled with a heart that truly forgives others, is life itself. It keeps you in that kingdom of light, where the power of darkness has no rightful claim.
Do not diminish the word or add to it. The warnings in Scripture about nations and kings who forsook God’s law are sobering, once the slide begins, it is swift and hard to reverse. The northern kingdom had not one righteous king, and it fell because it turned from the Lord. Judah later did the same, even after seeing the ruin of its neighbor. As the leaders went, so went the people. But you are not called to follow the decline; you are called to hold fast, to be part of a remnant that refuses to bow to the spirit of the age.
When you pray “deliver us from evil,” you are asking to be kept from temptations that entice the flesh, from the deception that would make you sterile in your walk, and from the proud rebellion that seeks to build its own kingdom apart from God. That prayer will be answered, because the true King, the Son of David, has an everlasting dominion. Every false throne and every usurping power will be broken. So pray on. Your sins are forgiven. Your daily bread is sure. And the evil you fear will not have the final word, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to Him forever.
