“Lead us not into trials which we have not the grace to bear, But rescue us from the evil one.”
“But rescue us from the evil one” connects with the previous petition: “Lead us not into temptation” – trials which we have not the grace to bear. Together, they are the third and fourth personal petitions Jesus taught in response to “teach us to pray.” In their placement as the sixth and seventh petitions in the Pattern of Seven, they reverberated from the Ruler and Mercy portions of His human spirit. Seven petitions. The first three relating to our heavenly Father; the final four related to us. Each one constituting prayer’s language of dependence on God.
James’s Abacus of Joy
Before we segue, James shared an unexpected word born of the Spirit witnessing to his spirit regarding temptation (James 1:2-5 TPT) –
My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things. And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection1 into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking. And if anyone longs to be wise, ask God for wisdom and he will give it! He won’t see your lack of wisdom as an opportunity to scold you over your failures, but he will overwhelm your failures with his generous grace.
James had an abacus of a different kind; one that used temptations to “count it all joy” – knowing that the very trials and different kinds of temptation we fall or stumble into are occasions for the putting to the proof of our faith. When failure presents an opportunity, James understood that counting it as pure joy reset the test on faith’s terms. I can’t help but think the apostle Peter had Jesus’ prayer-filled wisdom that he passed on to James as well (see link).
Drawing on God’s grace and wisdom to bear situations in which we find ourselves become times that the quality of patience can be worked into us: the ability to stand under trial and endure hardship. We can call what faith we have into action and see the Lord move. For all that stands arrayed against us, our God is for us. Our Ruler portion learns and comes to know these are times of growth and development the LORD uses to bring us on to maturity in Christ.
Trials and temptations that bring us into combat with the devil is what Jesus taught us to pray we would avoid. He who endured the Cross bore everythingthe evil one possessed. Mercy’s petition resounds: “deliver us from evil!”
ho ponéros
“But rescue us from the evil one” – back to studying Brother Ed’s Greek nuggets, he shone a brighter light on evil. Ponéros is the Greek word from which evil comes. The little word ho is a Definite Article meaning the. Put together, it is the term Jesus used to specify the devil: ho ponéros – the evil one. Jesus, ever the Teacher, made sure that believers through the ages could know the design in which the evil one operates in his attempts to bring us down.
This term Jesus used, ho ponéros, refers to the evil one in a physical, spiritual, moral, and political sense. The qualities the evil one possesses in his nature comprise the arsenal he tries to bring over into these realms of our lives. It is to our advantage and deliverance that we be aware, with faith in the Lord’s goodness.
David, anointed to be King, but in his own long season of trial and testing before God brought him to the throne, helps us identify the heart God regards as one after His own. Undivided and secured by faith in the Lord’s goodness:
“I am expecting the Lord to rescue me again, so that once again I will see his goodness to me here in the land of the living. Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord, and He will come and save you! Be brave, stouthearted, and courageous. Yes, wait and He will help you.”
David in Psalm 27:13-14 (Living Bible) – Our Deliverance Song
Other translations read: “I would have fainted…”; “If I had not believed…”; “I would have had no hope…” David chose to rest in confident trust in the Lord. He had been rescued over and over, a living witness to God’s power.
four realms of our lives the evil one goes after
The evil one is not our friend. A liar from the beginning, his approaches are textbook in accordance with the legitimacy lies that test the portions of our human spirit. We validate ho ponéros’ pride when we think like him.
Some malignant qualities he will try and bring over in the physical, spiritual, moral, and political realms of our lives:
▪ In a physical sense, the evil one means that which is bad, good for nothing, useless (ineffective, hopeless, futile)
▪ In a spiritual sense, it means that which is toilsome (hard, challenging, arduous, formidable), grievous (painful, severe, dire, dangerous), and oppressive (cruel, unjust, overpowering, harsh, unfair)
▪ In a moral sense, it means that which is worthless (empty, insignificant, hollow) and cowardly (fainthearted)
▪ And in a political sense, with which Jesus was sorely acquainted, it means that which is of a baser sort (corrupt, viler, ignoble, contemptible)
Jesus put all these together and called the devil ho ponéros, the evil one. Then, He taught us to pray to our Father: “Deliver us from the evil one!” Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us! for from the Greek ruomai, deliver means, through the idea of a current, to rush or draw to oneself; to rescue; to drag out of danger; to save from peril. Oh, the expectation that is ours of God’s rescuing power! It transforms fear into faith, lies into truth, death into life.
The Rescuing Power of our Faithful God
The rescuing power of our faithful God is as perfect and powerful as the evil one is full of death’s malignant poison.
All His rescue, all His power is complete in Christ. It is for us in Christ to learn of Him, which displaces uncertainty as to who we are and where we are in Him. All His children are in process on His complete, nothing lacking continuum.
Do you know the heart of God is that our time of trial will push us, like birth pangs, into the perfection the Lord Jesus has obtained for us where the enemy has no more access? Nothing is impossible with God.2 His divine power; our faith and trust in Him – forming in us an unshakeable confidence. It is our Ephesians 6 stand against the evil one.
Growing in Discernment, Not Panic
The evil one has multiple ways to set snares to entangle us. It is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into trials which we have not the grace to bear.” We have only to ask Holy Spirit to help us discern the spirits at work against us. When we realize what is happening, in faith’s authority, we can command the intruding spirits to go.
In times of sickness and ill health, we can ask others to pray for us with the prayer of faith.3 The heartfelt supplication of a righteous man exerts a mighty influence (vs 16, Weymouth). The righteousness of Christ, His virtues in us powerfully at work.
Other times, we are confronted with satanic situations in which there is no way of escape except through our Father’s miraculous intervention. I could recount innumerable times over our 21 years of counseling – prefaced with many times in years prior – that my husband and I, or he alone, were confronted with the evil one, toe to toe and eye to eye. I am not too proud to say that in the early days of Shammahs Field │Ministries, I was scared. I had conquered a lot of fear before, but this was a new level of conflict. Fear had a gripping effect that made me want to avoid confrontation with ho ponéros as much as possible. Our Father had other ideas for fulfilling His call; we were swiftly enlisted in Holy Spirit’s boot camp with our David hearts. The years grew and trained us to not panic.
I have found it true that God’s rescuing power is multi-faceted. One proclamation from His Spirit or His written Word can move upon one’s spirit, soul, and body simultaneously. His Word has power to regenerate hearts of each generation. What was spoken by His Spirit in past ages gives testament to His ageless power, which is inexhaustible.
Furthermore, He has never stopped speaking. What makes the powerful difference is to whom we are listening: Christ Jesus, the Word of God; our own hearts, which we do not clearly or fully know without Holy Spirit; others, who have their own hearts in need of Holy Spirit; or the evil one.
One of the most merciful freedoms we can obtain is when Holy Spirit strips the mask off the evil one. At such times, may The Lord’s Prayer become the petitions of our heart as Jesus taught. How enduring is His victory!
A Concluding Word of God’s Ongoing Power and Provision
In addition to The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught other lessons about prayer involving supplication for oneself and intercession for others. Luke 11:5-13 speaks to intercession, the cry of an earnest heart coming before the Throne of God for another. It is the kind of praying that arises from a faith that will not be denied. Luke 18:1-8 shows us pure supplication not intercession, because it does not involve the need of another, but one’s own urgent need.
In closing of “Teach Us to Pray”, Psalm 106 shares a searching statement about people determined to have their own way before the Lord. In context of verses 12 through 15, their persistent praying brought about their request, but their souls were made thin. Verses 13 and 14 give us insight as to why God sent leanness into their soul: they soon forgot His works, they didn’t wait for His counsel, they lusted intensely in the wilderness and tempted God in the desert. After they believed His Words and sang His praise! (vs 12). God’s Word is for our benefit, which is why we are to exhort our soul: forget not all His benefits. Turn around verses 13 and 14 and add them to verse 12: Remember His works; wait for His counsel; put down the lusts of the flesh; and do not tempt the Lord in your living.
Take to heart, put into practice, and see God’s hand bring about a powerful move forward in His mercy and grace. Jesus taught us how.
~ Nancy
1 Matthew 5:48 – Jesus in conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount: “Be perfect, therefore, as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Perfect in the Greek means complete, whole, fully developed, reaching an end goal – relying on Christ to achieve it in us. His joy is our strength; His power is made perfect in our weakness; renewing our mind to His mind brings ongoing transformation. In all our ways, the Spirit of the Son of God teaches and trains the sons of God (us who believe) to live as Children of the Kingdom.
2 Luke 1:37 3 James 5:13-20
Accompanying reading: The Songs of the Lord (Intro/Psalms 22-24) & Songs of the Lord’s Child (Intro/Psalms 25-27); From the Archives: Faith and Failure; and Undivided Loyalty – Without a Double Heart
Click here for a printable PDF of this article: Redemptive Gifts Pattern of Seven – But Rescue Us From the Evil One
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