Devotion 26 November 2025
- St Johns Evangelist United Church
- Nov 26
- 2 min read
Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His Holy Name.
Psalm 103: 1
READING: Matthew 6: 13 + Luke 11: 4c + Ephesians 3: 17-18 + James 1: 13
In this part of the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 : 13 and Luke 11: 4c, we pray that we will not be tempted but be delivered from the evil one. In James 1 : 13 says that we cannot say that God is tempting us, because He can’t be tempted by the devil. We read further that we can be tempted by our own evil desire. So, what does this prayer mean? This prayer echoes 1 Corinthians 10 : 13 which reads, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God is in charge of us and temptation is not only the desire to do wrong but is also having our faith put to the test. In this prayer we are asking God to keep us from any test or temptation. We are asking for help when we are in the midst of spiritual struggles, which without Him we cannot overcome. In the life of Jesus Christ, He was tempted by Satan on numerous occasions. Paul also describes when Satan tried to intervene in his missionary work. When we as Christians are tempted it is not just a simple right or wrong but the devil tries to destroy our faith and our lives.
The closing doxology was not found in the earliest manuscripts, but the early Christians added it to the Lord’s Prayer. It is a fitting expression of praise for the authority, power and glory which belongs to our Father God. It is based on the prayer offered by David in 1 Chronicles 29 : 11, “Yours , O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.”
