Deliver us Father from All Evil.

Keep My disciples from the Evil One. 

"Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: 

“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.

"When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

"But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

"I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One.

"They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.

"Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.

"As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.

"And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

Wednesday 24th of May in the 7th Week of Easter. 

Our key Scripture for today is from the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus in the Upper Room before He steps out into the Garden of Gethsemane. 

There is so much to chew in this message but one sentence jumped out to me:

"Keep them from the Evil One."

The Evil One figures prominently in today's message. Paul instructs the Church in Ephesus:

"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the ­disciples away after them. So be vigilant." (Acts 20: 28 - 38).

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray to the Father:

"Lead us not into temptation but deliver from evil." The Our Father is a daily prayer. 

Spiritual Warfare is a necessity in Christian life. If it cannot be avoided, we do well to prepare adequately for it. Let us be comforted by the truth that the real battle has been fought and won by Jesus. To claim the victory that is ours, we must follow the instructions of Holy Scripture:

"Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.

"Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.

"For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. 

"Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.

"In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

"Constant Prayer. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must." (Ephesians 6: 10 - 20). 

For a Pentecost Novena, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/05/9-days-pentecost-novena.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com