Bible Reading: 1 Sam. 17 & 18. Luke 11:1-27.
“And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” – Luke 11:4 (KJV)
When we pray that God delivers us from evil, we are conceding four essential facts about the enemy, the devil. These are that the devil exists, he is in conflict with us as God’s children, God is our deliverer from him and the Lord wants us to take our stand against him.
Since the Lord asks us to pray to the father for deliverance from the devil, it means it exists. This was reiterated in 1 Peter 5:8 (KJV), “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” Part of vigilance is recognizing the presence of the devil and its capability. Imagine he tempted the Lord Jesus Christ! (Matthew 4:1-3 ). So he will test every other human being whether you believe it or not. This is why Jesus prays for his own in John 17:15 (KJV), “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”
A confirmation of the devil’s existence leads to his purpose on earth and the bible clearly states this in John 10 where Jesus did not only describe him as a thief but further states its purpose; John 10:10 (KJV): “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” So the devil is in total conflict with the children of God, looking for ways of making them miserable knowing fully well that God wants his children to have joy.
Therefore, anytime anything comes your way to deprive you of your joy, resist it with the word of God! God is our deliverer and is always ready and willing to save all human beings from the hands of the devil. Hence the Lord Jesus says in John 6:37 (KJV), “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
So always take your stand against the devil anytime it comes your way in form of lack, failure, pain, sorrow, sickness or any other agent of the enemy. Thus you need to memorize some verses of the bible such that you can quickly quote the verse to stop any device of the devil. However, if you have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, God cannot deliver you as you will be unknown to him. So you need to surrender your life to him this moment to be able to have God as your ally who will deliver you from the devil.
Prayer: Father deliver me and my household from evil all through today and beyond in Jesus name.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero