Day 26: From
As Jesus continues His prayer, He speaks out “deliver us from the evil one.” In this phrase it is so easy to pass over the word ‘from’ while reading and praying. We are drawn to the actions or the nouns associated with this sentence. We love the concept of deliverance, and we love that we are being delivered from the evil one. But that one small word, ‘from,’ is so key in understanding the core of this prayer. It is an asking to be brought from one place to another. It is a petition in which we are lifting our hands to the Father who will pick us up and bring us into the beautiful location of His heart.
One of my favorite things about flying is the on-board nap. One time I remember flying from Los Angeles to Chicago, and I fell asleep before we even left the ground at LAX. When I woke up, we were somewhere over Nevada. It was amazing to me that a short time of sleep could pass while so much movement could take place as well. Before I knew it we were landing in Chicago, ready for the events ahead of us.
In this same manner, I find it interesting the best way in the Kingdom is the way that finds rest in the Lord’s work and movement. We can strive for so many things: for worth, for attention, for hope, for peace, for life itself. Yet, Christ is the only source of all these things. When we pray this prayer, we are not just asking to be delivered from situations or circumstances, but rather we are asking to be relocated and realigned with the truth, the way, and the life.
When we are petitioning to be delivered from, we are actually calling ourselves and those around us to remember that our location right now may be in time and on earth, but our eternal destination and location is in the Lord. We are not downplaying situations, relationships, work problems, etc. as if they do not matter, but rather we are realigning our vision to see from the eternity of Christ Jesus, rather than the temporal perspective of our immediate reaction or limited words. Beloved, I encourage you today to remember that our Lord is eternal, and eternally faithful. When we pray this prayer, let us sit back in the beauty and glory of His work alone, as He brings us from glory to glory. You will be amazed how much movement will take place when you start to live from the Lord’s work rather than from your own. Amen.
Action: Today, I would exhort you to find comfort in all that God has done, is doing, and will do. Make a list, speak them out, declare them in the air, sing them, or sit in the silence of how great and majestic the Lord is in His working and willing for beautiful and glorious things. When you can, today, speak out: King of heaven and earth, align us with our new location in You.
