Matthew 6:13 Lead Us Not Into Temptation
Matthew 6:13a is a prayer for spiritual strength to overcome temptation. It is a prayer for God’s spiritual protection.
The puritanic writer Thomas Manton observed, we cannot be tempted without the will of God, that is, unless He wills it. We cannot resist temptation without the power of God. Therefore we should earnestly pray to our Father in heaven about our trials and temptations. This is the spirit of sin in our lives. It is a call to battle, the battle for holiness. And it is also a desire on our part as a sanctified vessel to be kept pure.
“but deliver us from evil…”
The word “deliver” is a plea for God Himself to deliver us from evil. “Evil” in Greek has a definite article attached to it. It refers to the evil one, Satan himself. Only God can deliver us from Satan. Satan is the tempter. Remember how he tempted Jesus after He had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights? Jesus overcame Satan by God’s Word. Hence, this prayer is for God to equip us with the knowledge of His Word that we may use it at the right instant to ward off every temptation. This is an entreaty to the Father to help us.
Martin Luther in his booklet “The Small Catechism” said summarized well this 6th petition, “God indeed tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world and our flesh may not deceive us nor seduce us into mischief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and obtain the victory.” Amen.