Daily Devotion: Safe and Sound

Scripture:
Matthew 6: 9-15; 1 Chronicles 4: 9-10

Main Verse:
Matthew 6: 13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Observation:
Our Lord's Prayer is the model that we use when praying to the Lord. The Lord has already outlined in that short prayer our physical and spiritual needs. But long before the Lord taught this prayer to His disciples and His followers, Jabez was already praying a part of the prayer: protection and deliverance from evil. Jabez knew that there are evil forces ready to lure him into temptation, and he cannot simply battle his way out of these. So he asked the Lord in a simple yet heartfelt way to keep him from evil. The Lord knows what our spirit needs. He can bless us financially and spiritually, expand our borders, increase our influence, but if we do not ask for the Lord's protection, we may fall from the traps that the enemy sets up for us. The Lord himself was tempted, so He knows that we are not exempted from the devil's schemes.

Application:
The Lord is Almighty God. It is so easy for the Lord to just send His legions of angels and battle the enemy in just the flick of His finger. But what the Lord wants us to do is to plead to Him to lead us away from the ways of the evil one.  He will do everything to protect His children from the devil, but He wants us to ask Him for his safekeeping. Jabez did just the right thing. He did not ask the Lord to help him battle the enemy. He asked the Lord to keep him from the enemy. As humans, we can be easily distracted by the devil, but the Lord will never let the enemy snatch us away from Him. We are safe and sound in the arms of God. Let us pray for the Lord's protection from the enemy's deceptions, from pride and arrogance, and from wrong feelings and judgments.

Prayer:
Lord, you are beyond supernatural. By your power, you can take control of and destroy the enemy. I pray, oh Lord, that you keep me safe from all kinds of temptation. Keep me safe from sin, from mistakes that may cause me pain and grief, from proud and wicked thoughts. Cover me at all times with your Holy Blood, so that the enemy may not have an ounce of opportunity to attack me. In Jesus's name I pray. AMEN.