Heidelberg 127- Protect us from temptation and evil

7Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.…
(1 John 3:7-9)

Cast all your care on Him for He cares for  you.  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:7,8)

Thoughts: If we believe there is such a thing as evil- or sin- then we should believe there is such a thing as temptation to sin.  Temptations are not sin in and of themselves.  But listening to temptation, being fascinated by the temptation, indulging in the temptation and giving into it are different steps into sin.  The enemies of our soul- of our godliness- of our pleasing God are three according to this catechism: 1. The world- the giving into the pressure from others and culture to be just like everyone else; 2. The flesh- giving up self control in order to please our feelings alone; 3. The devil- the personification of evil.  Deliver us, O Lord, from the evil one (not just "evil" but the "one who is evil" in the Greek text of Matthew 6).  Just as there are godly spirits (angels) there are also ungodly spirits (demons and devil).  To deny the existence of any of these three enemies is to lower our defenses.  It would be like to swim in the ocean this week without looking for a shark's fin, walk in a lion's refuge without looking for lions, or walking in a minefield without looking out for landmines.  Before 911 America, for the most part, thought we were invulnerable to attacks and our enemies were powerless to really hurt us.  Since that time we are more aware.  It would be nice to think we could live in our house without locks or to use a computer without an antivirus program because there are no hackers or mean spirited viruses out there.  The best protection against evil and temptation is not our own work of self-control-- but the power of God found in prayer.  So jesus knows and teaches us the importance of praying for God's protection over us.  

Prayer: Lord, keep us from evil, hurt, and harm that I would cause no pain.  Protect me not for my comfort alone but so that you would be glorified through me.  If I face evil, give me the grace to bear up under it faithfully and truly for you.  

Q & A 127

Q. What does the sixth petition mean?

A. “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one” means:

By ourselves we are too weak to hold our own even for a moment.1 And our sworn enemies— the devil,2 the world,3 and our own flesh—4 never stop attacking us. And so, Lord,

uphold us and make us strong  with the strength of your Holy Spirit, so that we may not go down to defeat in this spiritual struggle,5 but may firmly resist our enemies until we finally win the complete victory.6

1 Ps. 103:14-16; John 15:1-5
2 2 Cor. 11:14; Eph. 6:10-13; 1 Pet. 5:8
3 John 15:18-21
4 Rom. 7:23; Gal. 5:17
5 Matt. 10:19-20; 26:41; Mark 13:33; Rom. 5:3-5
6 1 Cor. 10:13; 1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23