Christians pray “The Lord’s Prayer” often, if not every day.  If we aren’t careful, the prayer can become routine.  Because this is the prayer that Jesus gave to us, it is important to take the time to think about the meaning behind His words.

A number of years ago, a family member of an acquaintance of mine was brutally murdered.  This upset me and caused me to really think about the Lord’s Prayer.  In particular, I meditated on the words, “deliver us from evil.” What does this mean?  Evil is a mystery.  I don’t know why there is evil in the world, or why people choose evil.  People often commit sin out of weakness, but to deliberately choose to harm or destroy another living being is so hard to fathom.  We find ourselves asking why?  Why does God allow it?  Why doesn’t an omnipotent God protect us?

Many Christians, including myself, have a conscious or subconscious expectation that if we are good, God will protect us.  So, it stuns and shocks us when bad things happen to good people.  After all, we have been praying to God to “deliver us from evil.”

I got chills when I first realized that I was mistaking the term “deliver” for the term “protect.”  We can pray for God to protect us and our families from evil and, believe me, I do.  But Jesus doesn’t ask for protection, he asks for deliverance.  Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, was not protected from evil! So, why should we expect to be treated any different?  What a scary realization.  The “One Without Sin” became the sacrificial lamb and was humiliated, tortured and crucified. It wasn’t until after his death that he was delivered.  The term delivered means freed or released.  I find no comfort in this.

I wish evil didn’t exist.  I believe God allows it because He wants us to have free will.  He wants us to choose good, and by choosing good that means choosing Him.  It is our responsibility to make the world a better place by eradicating evil.  Remember, Jesus also prayed, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” It starts with us.  We need to do whatever we can, in our own little corner of the world, to protect the vulnerable from those who would cause harm.

Most importantly, we must never forget how God turned the grave evil that Jesus endured into a grand victory over death and sin.  Jesus’ death on the cross allowed that all might be saved and be able to live with God in heaven for all eternity.  And in heaven…there is no evil.