The evil one . . . we ask to be delivered from Satan. Like the previous phrase regarding being led away from temptation, why should we even have to ask this? Isn’t it a given? Well, it must not be or we would not have to ask to be delivered from him.
His fingers are wrapped around our necks, taking our breath – our voice - away. You see, whatever has you has your voice. If Satan has you – like when the demons had the man from the tombs – he has your voice. As the demons spoke for that man, your demons will speak for you. And all can hear it - loud and clear. We think we can hide our ‘demons’, but they scream out from us, fooling no one. This deliverance that we pray for is a plea to get our voice back.
When God delivers you from this death grip, He now has your voice and you are free to speak about Him. That’s why this is last. When all is said and done, when you are delivered, you are now free to speak – and all that is done must be said. Your release is your message. But you obviously cannot speak it until you are released. We have too many people proclaiming the message of the Lord while secretly (and no so secretly) still living in bondage.
Psalm 51:13 “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways and sinners will turn back to You.”
After his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, David is confronted by Nathan the prophet, who reveals his sin. David then writes Psalm 51, pleading with the Lord to wash him clean, to restore him to his previous state of spiritual health. Not until then, David says, can he tell of the wonderful things that God has done. Due to his current, self-induced circumstances, he has lost his voice. He has no right, no power, no ability to proclaim the goodness of the Lord while he is steeped in sin. It is only ‘then’ – after he has been ripped open, cleansed and restored by God, will he be able to give a powerful testimony that will cause sinners to listen.
Satan knows this, that’s why he attacks the ‘voice’ of the Christians. I don’t feel that Satan can enter into a believing Christian, but I do believe, as Scripture says, that he is prowling around us “like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8) Since he cannot get into our brain, he tries to get into our head. So he watches us very closely to see if we will reveal our doubts and weakness to him by actions and words. He wants to know what tempts us, what causes us to fear, what we are drawn to - and then he will find a way to feed that. If he can do to us what he did to David, then he can take away our voice. If you’ve ever been caught up in sin, you know that the last thing you really want to do is tell others about the victory found in Jesus Christ.
We need to be very careful about what we say, about what we watch, about what we laugh at, etc. Do not betray yourself to him. Pour yourself out to God and God alone. Satan is watching, and he is ready to pounce on whatever you reveal to him. He wants to take away our testimony – our voice – so that we will be ineffective and unproductive, so we can’t give him the ammunition.
This last phrase, “deliver us from the evil one,’ is asking God to allow us to keep our voice. If we have truly been redeemed, if we have prayed this cleansing prayer with a clean heart and pure motives, then we need to say so. We need to let others see the hope that He gives us in this dark and chaotic world. The end result of this prayer being prayed honestly before the Lord is that we will be emboldened to be powerful witnesses to the world. It is not a selfish prayer – it is a prayer to regain our voice, so that others will find Christ.
In Revelation 14 we read of the 144,000 who have been redeemed by the Lamb. They are singing a song of redemption. “No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth . . . they follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were purchased from among men.” They understood a unique redemption so they sang a song that only they could sing. We can’t force people to sing songs of redemption. Only the ones who ‘get it’ can sing it. Psalm 107:1, 2 says: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this.”
To “learn” means to “hear deeply.” Only a saved person can sing a song of redemption. Only one who has been plucked from the fire, pulled out of the muck and mire and filth of this world, can deeply hear the songs of redemption. The others sing along, mouth the words, enjoy the choruses, but only the redeemed can truly sing from the depths of their hearts. All of the great saints had songs of redemption.
Exodus 15 – Moses sang a song of redemption when they came out of
Judges 5 – Deborah sang a song of redemption when they defeated the Canaanites.
II Samuel 22 – David sang a song of redemption after being delivered from all of his enemies.
If you have been redeemed, you have a song and Satan is trying to take it away from you. But you can stand him down – resist him and he will flee from you.
“Heaven is not the place to learn that song; it must be learned on the earth. You must learn here the notes of free grace and dying love; and when you have mastered their melody, you will be able to offer to the Lord the tribute of a grateful heart, even in heaven, and blend it with the harmonies eternal.” (Spurgeon)
The old time hymn writers knew this. They had a song and they expressed it in beautiful ways. Some of my favorite verses in the entire hymn book talk about that moment when you were delivered from bondage:
How Great Thou Art: “And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died, to take away my sin.”
It Is Well With My Soul: “My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, oh my soul!”
And Can It Be: “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night. Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”
They strike so deep because you know that they were written out of the depths of someone’s heart. These three verses are just a few of the many that I sing as songs of my redemption. I know it. God knows it. And it’s hard sometimes to explain to someone else. In Psalm 66:16-18 we read, “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me. I cried out to Him with my mouth: His praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
The Lord’s Prayer ends with this same sentiment. Deliver us from the evil one. If I am cherishing sin, then I have no voice. But if I have been redeemed, then come and listen to my song. I will sing it fearlessly and powerfully.
I fear, however, that the Christian church in general has lost their song, their voice, due to our compromises with the culture around us. We need to pray this collectively: Lord, deliver us from the evil one. Give us our voice back. Help us to be the ones that impact the culture, and not the other way around.
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