attempt to ensnare a person in something evil. But when the word is translated as “test,” it refers to something positive—the way gold is tested by fire to be both evaluated and refined.
These two different meanings of pierasmos are seen in the first chapter of James. Verses 2–3 read, “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” This passage points to the truth that we usually experience the most growth through the hardest stretches.
In verse 13, James cautions, “No one, when tempted, should say, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.” Here, using the very same Greek word, James is making it clear that it is never God’s intention to lead us into evil.
So why is pierasmos translated as “temptation” rather than “test” in Matthew 6:13? Perhaps because we’re tempted to misread our trials to mean that God is no longer with us or for us. Satan took this tack in the wilderness. But Jesus was too thoroughly acquainted with his Father’s goodness to fall for Satan’s lie that God could not be trusted in a time of trial.
When trials inevitably come, Jesus teaches us to pray that Satan won’t convince us that God has abandoned us. Johnson’s paraphrase of Matthew 6:13 reads, “Father, as you lead us to the test, do not let the test become a temptation, but rescue us from the one who seeks to destroy our faith, and work in us the same confidence in you that Jesus has.”
We see again why the first petition is for the hallowing of God’s name. Jesus knows the only thing that can defeat us is if we become permanently convinced that God is not good.
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
The final thing Jesus teaches us to ask for is deliverance from evil, which indicates that evil is real and we shouldn’t underestimate it. There truly is an enemy who would love to devour us. Remember, this enemy’s primary modus operandi is attempting to deceive us into thinking God cannot be trusted.
But if Jesus is realistic about evil, he is also utterly confident about its defeat. He knows we are not in some dualistic battle where good and evil are equal opponents and the outcome is uncertain. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
As a church kid, I loved the special Sundays when missionaries on furlough brought reports. There is one visit I’ve never forgotten.
The missionary couple was stationed in what appeared in photos to be a particularly steamy jungle. One day, they told us, an enormous snake—much longer than a man—slithered its way through their front door and into the kitchen of their simple home. Terrified, they ran outside and searched frantically for a local who might know what to do. A machete-wielding neighbor came to the rescue, calmly marching into their house and decapitating the snake with one clean chop.
The neighbor reemerged triumphant and assured the missionaries that the reptile had been defeated. But there was a catch, he warned: It was going to take a while for the snake to realize it was dead.
A snake’s neurology and blood flow are such that it can take considerable time for it to stop moving even after decapitation. For the next several hours, the missionaries were forced to wait outside while the snake thrashed about, smashing furniture and flailing against walls and windows, wreaking havoc until its body finally understood that it no longer had a head.
Sweating in the heat, they felt frustrated but also grateful that the snake’s rampage wouldn’t last forever. At some point they had a mutual epiphany.
I leaned in with the rest of the congregation, queasy and fascinated. “Do you see it?” asked the husband. “Satan is a lot like that big old snake. He’s already been defeated. He just doesn’t know it yet. In the meantime, he’s going to do some damage. But never forget that he’s a goner.”
That story is a picture of the universe. We are in the thrashing time, a season characterized by our capacity to do violence to each other and ourselves. The temptation is to despair. We have to remember, though, that it won’t last forever. Jesus has already crushed the serpent’s head.
There is still a waiting. In some cases, the redemption and healing Jesus obtained for us on the cross may not come in fullness until we are face-to-face with our Victor—but come it will. Guaranteed.
One wondrous mystery is that although the end of the story has already been determined, God is still using us to write it. We have the dignity of causality. Because Jesus lives in us through his Spirit, we are called not just to anticipate the ultimate reign of his kingdom, but also to play a part in bringing it to fruition.
And so we live inside the prayer Jesus taught us. We affirm that the kingdom is at hand. We sign up for the revolution.
We ask God to do what only he can do—and to do it in and through us, even now.
Suggested song: “The Last Word (Love Was Here First)”
Renovare.org/universesongs
The Lord’s Prayer
(Dallas Willard Paraphrase)
Dear Father, always near us,
may your name be treasured and loved,
may your rule be completed in us—
may your will be done here on earth
in just the way it is done in heaven.
Give us today the things we need today,
and forgive us our sins and impositions on you
as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.
Please don’t put us through trials,
but deliver us from everything bad.
Because you are the one in charge,
and you have all the power,
and the glory too is all yours—forever—
which is just the way we want it!
AMEN!
LIVING INSIDE THE SIXTH PETITION
Do you face a temptation to doubt God’s goodness and the fact that he is with you and for you? As you pray for deliverance from evil and oppression, “pray back” God’s character as the Deliverer:
- the One who freed Israel from Egyptian captivity
- the One who welcomed outcasts and healed the sick, freeing them from estrangement and illness
- the One who delivered us from death and decay on the cross
Use this last day inside the Lord’s Prayer to gather up the threads of all that you’ve explored throughout the journey. Be sure to journal anything you’ve heard from God, as well as the questions and petitions that remain.
To download the full resource: https://renovare.org/books/the-universe-in-57-words
Excerpts used with permission from a book entitled
the universe
in 57 words
SEVEN DAYS INSIDE THE LORD’S PRAYER
By Carolyn Arends
This resource has been influenced by more authors, preachers, teachers, and fellow pray-ers than I can credit or even remember. But I am particularly indebted to the following works: Fifty-Seven Words That Change the World, by Darrell Johnson; The Lord and His Prayer, by N. T. Wright; The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard; Prayer, by Richard Foster; and Eugene Peterson’s “Jesus and Prayer” lectures for SPIR 604 at Regent College.
