April 30 Devotion - The Lord's Prayer - And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

In the previous devotions I covered the following portion of The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Today we cover the next phrase in sequence:  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
   

The Greek word for temptation is “Peirasmos” which means “a trial, proving, or testing.” God does not tempt us ever. He however may choose to test us.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

إذا تَعَرَّضَ أحَدٌ لِلتَّجرِبَةِ، لا يَنبَغي أنْ يَقُولَ: «هَذِهِ تَجرِبَةٌ مِنَ اللهِ.» لِأنَّ اللهَ لا تُغرِيهِ الشُّرُورُ، وَهُوَ لا يُغرِي بِها أحَداً.

James 1:13

In this phrase of The Lord’s Prayer we request God to protect us against that which might cause us to fall into sin. The Bible tells us that everything that happens is either caused by God, or God allows it.  As such, we believers realize that God is in control of every second of our lives, so we pray for God to guide our steps away from tests and towards holiness.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And 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 endure it.

 لَمْ تُصِبكُمْ تَجرِبَةٌ لا تَأتِي عَلَى غَيرِكُمْ مِنَ البَشَرِ، لَكِنْ يُمكِنُكُمْ أنْ تَثِقُوا بِاللهِ الَّذي لا يَسمَحُ بِأنْ تُجَرَّبُوا فَوقَ طاقَتِكُمْ، بَلْ يُوفِّرُ مَعَ التَّجرِبَةِ مَنفَذاً، لِكَيْ تَقدِرُوا أنْ تَحتَمِلُوا.

1 Corinthians 10:13

God is faithful, and he will not let us be tested beyond our ability, but with the test He will also provide the way of escape, that we may be able to endure it. When He delivers the way out, we have to take it.

God is the only one who can protect us from the evil one. It is by His strength that we are enabled to stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

إِذَنْ، كُونُوا خَاضِعِينَ لِلهِ. وَقَاوِمُوا إِبْلِيسَ فَيَهْرُبَ مِنْكُمْ.

James 4:7

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, I pray not to be tested and thank You that if it is Your will to test me, You are faithful and will help me endure the test and You will find a way for me out of it. Help and strengthen me Lord to resist the devil. I believe that through Your power he will flee from me. God I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting and inseparable love for me. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I may submit my life to You and follow Your guidance for my life. I declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour. In the Holy Name of Your only begotten Son Jesus, I pray to You Father. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

April 29 Devotion - The Lord's Prayer - Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors

In the previous devotions I covered the following portion of The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.

Today we cover the next phrase in sequence:  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

انْزِعُوا عَنْكُمْ كُلَّ حِقْدٍ وَنَقْمَةٍ وَغَضَبٍ وَصَخَبٍ وَسُبَابٍ وَكَلَّ شَرٍّ. وَكُونُوا لُطَفَاءَ بَعْضُكُمْ نَحْوَ بَعْضٍ، شَفُوقِينَ، مُسَامِحِينَ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضاً كَمَا سَامَحَكُمُ اللهُ فِي الْمَسِيحِ.

 فَالبَسُوا ثَوباً يَلِيقُ بِأبناءٍ مُختارِينَ وَمُقَدَّسِينَ وَمَحبُوبِيْنَ مِنَ اللهِ: ثَوبَ الشَّفَقَةِ، وَاللُّطفِ، وَالتَّواضُعِ، وَالوَداعَةِ، وَالصَّبْرِ.

Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:12

In the Jewish writings it is common to call sins "debts"; and the phrase, of forgiving, is used both of God and men. While we are to forgive the monetary debts of the poor who cannot pay, we are also to forgive those have done us wrong and to pray to God to forgive them also.

I find it easier to understand this phrase of The Lord’s prayer as follows: Lord please teach me, help me, and strengthen me to forgive others in the same way You have forgiven me.

It has been said that forgiving others is the most selfish thing you can do for yourself, because it releases you of all the anguish and negative bitter feelings you hang onto when you don’t forgive. These feelings continue to hurt you until you forgive. It has also been said that non-forgiveness is like taking poison and hoping the other person will die. Jesus’ teaching to forgive our enemies is not such a tough thing when we realize it’s for our own good.

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, thank You for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting and inseparable love. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can forgive my debtors as You have forgiven me and to pray for them. Help me God to get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Strengthen me so that I can clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. God I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. I declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour. In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Your only begotten Son Jesus, I pray to You Father. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein

April 28 Devotion - The Lord's Prayer - Give us this day our daily bread

As believers we have the great privilege through Jesus Christ to pray directly to God the Father, and should be living in a daily and constant dependence on God’s provision.

Jesus said:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

«مَكْتُوبٌ: لَيْسَ بِالْخُبْزِ وَحْدَهُ يَحْيَا الإِنْسَانُ، بَلْ بِكُلِّ كَلِمَةٍ تَخْرُجُ مِنْ فَمِ اللهِ»

Matthew 4:4

We are to ask for our daily bread and more importantly have daily sustenance on The Word of God as our Bread of Life. There is nothing wrong with praying for our daily needs but Jesus did not say to pray for tomorrow’s bread but only for today’s because He said “Give us each day our daily bread.”  Nothing is said about tomorrow’s bread. Just like the manna that came down from heaven each day.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven for you; the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day.

Exodus 16: 4

Jesus also said:

 Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

أَمَّا أَنْتُمْ، فَاطْلُبُوا أَوَّلاً مَلَكُوتَ اللهِ وَبِرِّهِ، وَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا تُزَادُ لَكُمْ.

Matthew 6:33

Even though there is nothing wrong with praying for many things, we need to keep things in perspective, that whatever we need or want may be given to us but we need to first seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness. We are also to realize that Jesus is the bread of life for He himself said:

I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually].

فَأَجَابَهُمْ يَسُوعُ: «أَنَا هُوَ خُبْزُ الْحَيَاةِ. فَالَّذِي يُقْبِلُ إِلَيَّ لَا يَجُوعُ، وَالَّذِي يُؤْمِنُ بِي لَا يَعْطَشُ أَبَداً.

John 6:35

I invite you to repeat the following prayer for yourself:

Abba Father, help me Lord to read and meditate on Your Word daily and to feel connected to and dependent upon You daily. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can seek first Your Kingdom and righteousness before all my needs and wants. Thank You Father for Your abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting and inseparable love for me. Jesus You are my daily spiritual bread, help me to hear Your calling and to connect with You on a daily and moment by moment basis. God I praise You, revere You, worship You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. I declare to the world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour and I pray in His holy name. To Jesus be the power, the glory, the majesty and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Jesus loves you,

In Him,

Wagdi Henein