The Lord's Prayer.
The Seventh Petition And The Conclusion.
Which is the Seventh Petition?
_Our Father who art in heaven, deliver us from evil._
What does this mean?
_We pray in this petition, as the sum, of all that our Father in heaven
would deliver us from every evil of body and soul, property and honor,
and finally, when our last hour has come, grant us a blessed end, and
graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven._
Which is the Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer?
_For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen._
What is meant by the word "Amen"?
_That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our
Father in heaven, and heard; for He Himself has commanded us so to pray,
and has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen, that is, yea, yea, it shall be
so._
1. _"But deliver us from evil." "We pray in this petition, as the sum
of all";_ in this petition we sum up all the others. We include in the
word _"evil"_ our misfortunes and troubles of every kind, all our wants
and needs: all the ailments of our _body,_ such as sickness and the
like; everything that is hurtful to our _soul,_ sin with all its fearful
consequences; anything that injures or destroys our _property,_ such as
is done by fire, water, or bad, evil-minded men; whatever harms our
_honor,_ loss of our good name through lies and calumnies, etc. All
these things we sum up in the word _evil._
2. We pray that our Father would _deliver_ us from all these evils. We
beseech Him to _spare_ us from as many evils as He sees fit. We know
that days of sorrow and afflictions will indeed come to us. It is our
Father's good will that _"we must through much tribulation enter into
the kingdom of God."_ Acts 14,22. God sends us afflictions because He
_loves_ us, His children, because in His wisdom He knows that it is good
and salutary for us. _"Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth
every son whom He receiveth."_ Heb. 12,6. We willingly submit to His
will. But whenever the Lord has afflicted us, in every need and
distress, we lift our hearts to Him, the Father of mercies, and _pray
Him to be with us in our affliction,_ to help _bear the cross_ He has
laid upon us. We ask Him that He would turn every affliction _to our
benefit_ and in His own good time take it from us. It is our earnest
prayer that through everything that seems evil to us He would keep us
steadfast in faith to everlasting life.
3. True, as long as we live here on earth, we shall not be entirely free
from evil. On earth we are living in a _"vale of tears."_ But the time
will come when _"the Lord shall deliver me from every evil and will
preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom."_ 2 Tim. 4,18. And when this time
has come, _our last hour,_ the hour of our departure from this world, we
pray _that our Father would grant us a blessed end, and graciously take
us from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven,_ and thus wholly
deliver us from all evil. In that hour we shall say: _"Lord, now lettest
Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word; for mine eyes
have seen Thy salvation."_ Luke 2,29.30. When our dear Father takes us
to Himself in heaven, all our prayers will have been granted, all
earthly sorrow and affliction will be at an end; we shall have and enjoy
with our Father and our Lord all His heavenly gifts.
4. In the Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer we say: _"Thine is the
kingdom."_ We mean to say: Thou alone art my Lord and King, from whom I
am to seek help, and who certainly will hear my prayer. _"Thine is the
power":_ that is, Thou alone art the almighty God, Thou alone hast the
power to grant my petitions. And so _"Thine is the glory";_ that is, all
glory, all honor, all praise, shall be given to Thee alone _forever and
ever._
5. The word _"Amen"_ with which we conclude our prayer means, as our
Catechism explains it: _"Yea, yea, it shall be so."_ We express in this
word our assurance that our prayers are _acceptable to our Father in
heaven,_ and that _He will hear them._ May we really be certain that our
petitions are acceptable to God? Most assuredly. _Our Lord Himself has
given us this prayer,_ He has taught us these petitions, and _"has
commanded us so to pray."_ When in true devotion, in the name of our
Redeemer, we come to our Father and pray these petitions, how could it
be otherwise than that our Father is well pleased! And He Himself, our
Father, has so often _promised that He will hear us,_ that He will grant
our prayer. Our Lord has promised us: _"Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you."_
John 16,23. How could we doubt that God will hear us when we pray in
Christ's name, according to His will?--Indeed, it sometimes seems to
us as if God _did not hear_ our prayers. But it only seems so; God hears
every true prayer. But we must not forget that God grants us our
petitions _in His own manner,_ which we often do not understand. He does
not always grant our petitions at once, but _at His appointed time,_ at
the time He has appointed for His help, which, indeed, is the best time
for us. Confidently we always want to conclude our prayers with, _"Amen;
yea, yea, it shall be so."_