Since the posts this week have been dedicated to evil and whatnot, and since it's Friday the 13th, [I'm not superstitious, so the title is merely a crass attempt to generate traffic.] I ask you this: What are you praying for your kids? I am tempted to pray that God keeps them safe, protected from all evil. In fact, Matthew 6:13, part of the Lord's Prayer, seems to encourage me in this.
"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Or does it? Actually, I think it could be better translated, "Deliver us from the Evil One." (I'm not sure why my beloved NASB dropped the ball on this one, and the Non-Inspired Version got it right.) If my reading is correct, it reflects Jesus' own prayer for us in John 17:15, which uses the same Greek phrase. (The NASB gets it right this time, go figure.):
"I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one."
So, I pray that Satan will keep his hands of my kids—just like Jesus prayed for us. But I also pray that, as they grow up "in the world", God will empower them to confront evil on a personal and global scale.
1 comment:
I wonder how close that is also to when Jesus told Peter, "Satan has asked to sift you, but I have prayed for you."
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