Today is the 23rd day of Lent, a 40 day season of spiritual reflection, repentance, and renewal. During these 40 days we’ll explore the prayer life of Jesus, walking chronologically through every mention of Jesus’ prayer life and prayers in the Gospels.
Here is today’s prayer event: 15I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. (John 17:15)
This is part 2 of a 3 part prayer Jesus offers on behalf of his disciples. Even though Jesus has every right to only pray about himself in these final hours, he finds the compassion to pray for others. Here, Jesus prays that God might keep the disciples from the evil one.
Andrew Lincoln notes that in part 1 of this 3 part prayer, Jesus prays for the disciples to be kept in the Father’s name. In part 2, Jesus prays for the disciples to be kept from the evil one. Thus, Jesus demonstrates “the two antithetical spheres of power operative in the world.” Positively, Jesus prays that the disciples would be guarded by the Father’s power. Negatively, Jesus prays that the disciples would be protected from Satan’s power.
Satan is real. He is active. And prayer is one of the primary ways in which we combat his reality and his activity. Not by our own power. But by the Father’s power.
Consider the list of people for whom you regularly pray. How might your prayers for them change if you believed that the evil one could be targeting them, attacking them, or endangering them? Consider the things you generally pray for yourself. How might those prayers change if you believed the evil one could be targeting you, attacking you, or endangering you? Do you pray as if the evil one is real? Why? Why not?
[image]
Satan is definitely real. I know this because the more I work on spiritual disciplines, the closer I get to God on my journey through this life, the angrier Satan gets. And I can tell because he tempts me constantly, especially through this time of Lent. When I am lazy or complacent, that is not threatening to Satan and he leaves me alone. Jesus was tempted by Satan, why should we be any different?
Last year I reread The Screwtape Letters, and it articulated exactly what I know to be true in my own life. I would strongly recommend it if you haven’t read it, or haven’t read it in a while.
Yes, I believe satan is real. But no, I do not/have not been praying as if he is real excpet in extreme circumstances when I felt unjustly attacked. As I move into a deeper understanding of my faith, I am beginning to see just how subtle the deceiver can be.
I definitely believe that evil is real and it shapes my prayer. I know it is real. It have seen what evil does in my life and in the world around me. But I get twitchy about personifying that into Satan. I know Jesus did and I need to wrestle with that a bit more. I just don’t like what people do when they talk about Satan.
Some talk about Satan like God’s equal. That is not the case. We are not in a dualistic world of good and evil. God is king; this is his world. We are sons of this King and Satan is defeated. The Dragon cannot take the followers of the Lamb if we will stay faithful. So I pray we will be faithful.
Some make Satan into a scapegoat for our own bad choices. Short of demon-possession, I don’t think Satan can make us do things. It is up to us: the flesh or the Spirit. So I pray for the Spirit.
Sometimes I’m not sure how much of my view of Satan is shaped by John Milton or Dante and even Frank Peretti and how much by the Bible. I’m not sure Satan is a demon literally sitting, invisible, up in the corner of my room, but I believe that there is a war over our souls. I hear people attributing things that go wrong–things like accidents, death, disease–to Satan’s power, and I’m hardly ever comfortable with that. However, the idea that the evil one is targeting and attacking my faith or someone else’s–that I can accept. And so, like Jason, I pray to be faithful and I pray that others to be faithful.
Comments are closed.