1. "But deliver us from evil." "We pray in this petition, as the sum of all"; in this petition we sum up all the others. We include in the word "evil" our misfortunes and troubles of every kind, all our wants and needs: all the ailments of our body, such as sickness and the like; everything that is hurtful to our soul, sin with all its fearful consequences; anything that injures or destroys our property, such as is done by fire, water, or bad, evil-minded men; whatever harms our honor, loss of our good name through lies and calumnies, etc. All these things we sum up in the word evil.
2. We pray that our Father would deliver us from all these evils. We beseech Him to spare us from as many evils as He sees fit. We know that days of sorrow and afflictions will indeed come to us. It is our Father's good will that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Acts 14,22. God sends us afflictions because He loves us, His children, because in His wisdom He knows that it is good and salutary for us. "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." Heb. 12,6. We willingly submit to His will. But whenever the Lord has afflicted us, in every need and distress, we lift our hearts to Him, the Father of mercies, and pray Him to be with us in our affliction, to help bear the cross He has laid upon us. We ask Him that He would turn every affliction to our benefit and in His own good time take it from us. It is our earnest prayer that through everything that seems evil to us He would keep us steadfast in faith to everlasting life.
3. True, as long as we live here on earth, we shall not be entirely free from evil. On earth we are living in a "vale of tears." But the time will come when "the Lord shall deliver me from every evil and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom." 2 Tim. 4,18. And when this time has come, our last hour, the hour of our departure from this world, we pray that our Father would grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven, and thus wholly deliver us from all evil. In that hour we shall say: "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." Luke 2,29.30. When our dear Father takes us to Himself in heaven, all our prayers will have been granted, all earthly sorrow and affliction will be at an end; we shall have and enjoy with our Father and our Lord all His heavenly gifts.
4. In the Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer we say: "Thine is the kingdom." We mean to say: Thou alone art my Lord and King, from whom I am to seek help, and who certainly will hear my prayer. "Thine is the power": that is, Thou alone art the almighty God, Thou alone hast the power to grant my petitions. And so "Thine is the glory"; that is, all glory, all honor, all praise, shall be given to Thee alone forever and ever.
5. The word "Amen" with which we conclude our prayer means, as our Catechism explains it: "Yea, yea, it shall be so." We express in this word our assurance that our prayers are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and that He will hear them. May we really be certain that our petitions are acceptable to God? Most assuredly. Our Lord Himself has given us this prayer, He has taught us these petitions, and "has commanded us so to pray." When in true devotion, in the name of our Redeemer, we come to our Father and pray these petitions, how could it be otherwise than that our Father is well pleased! And He Himself, our Father, has so often promised that He will hear us, that He will grant our prayer. Our Lord has promised us: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you." John 16,23. How could we doubt that God will hear us when we pray in Christ's name, according to His will?—Indeed, it sometimes seems to us as if God did not hear our prayers. But it only seems so; God hears every true prayer. But we must not forget that God grants us our petitions in His own manner, which we often do not understand. He does not always grant our petitions at once, but at His appointed time, at the time He has appointed for His help, which, indeed, is the best time for us. Confidently we always want to conclude our prayers with, "Amen; yea, yea, it shall be so."
REMEMBER:—
1. We pray in this petition: My dear Father in heaven, lead me through all my afflictions according to Thy gracious will and pleasure, and when my last hour has come, grant me a blessed end and take me up to Thee in heaven, and so deliver me from all evil.
2. We are certain that this, our Lord's Prayer, as well as all the prayers we are bringing before God in accordance with it, are acceptable to God, and heard; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray and promised to hear us.
MEMORIZE:—
We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Acts 14,22.