The Lord Jesus left us the Lord’s prayer as a model of prayer, not as a recitation to be mechanically repeated, but as a model of what should be included in our prayer. And at the end of it, He says: “But deliver us from the evil one”. (Matthew 6:9)

Now, why was a request for deliverance from the evil one included in the model prayer? Why did Jesus find it necessary to choose this, among so many other things we need to ask and receive from Him?

If He taught that we should pray like this, it’s because evil exists and we live with it in this world. Evil is already in our veins, as we inherited an inclination towards evil due to original sin.

We all have the DNA of sin within us. We can see that parents have to work hard to raise their children so that they don’t go down the wrong path. And even teaching everything right, they often still choose the wrong path. Lying does not need to be taught to the child, sometimes, before speaking correctly, they already know how to lie, and deceive. So evil exists in human DNA.

Therefore, in addition to living with the evil that is within us – inclinations towards evil, thoughts -, we also live with the evil in the people around us – family, friends, neighbours, co-workers, etc.

When God asked Satan, “From where do you come?” He replied: “From going to and fro the earth and walking back and forth on it…” (Job 2:2) So, evil is everywhere. This is a result of the access we have given evil through disobedience to God.

The Lord’s prayer teaches us that we must pray daily, especially in the morning, asking God for deliverance from evil at the start of the day.

Therefore, the existence of evil demands that we live in constant vigilance. You cannot be naive to think that your life in this world is just what you see, what you touch, just the physical, the material. There is a spiritual world behind everything physical, which acts and mobilises people, and if you are not aware of this, you will be an easy victim of evil.

Listen to the full message above and learn how to protect yourself from harm.