Jesus prays Protection for us – Part One.  John 17.13-26

Click to read: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2017.13-26&version=NIV&interface=print

Key verses: My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. V.15

Hello. 

Jesus was praying for his disciples, and he was praying for you and me—the disciples who would come after his first chosen men.  One of Jesus’ concerns, as he got ready to return to the Father, was that God would protect us from the evil one.  While tomorrow is Halloween, when some like to give the dark side a voice, the evil one works 365 days a year, not just on All-Hallows’ Eve.  Christians must be aware of the devices, distractions, and deceptions the evil one perpetuates. 

After Jesus’ ascension to Heaven, one of the Lord’s more familiar disciples, Peter, would go on to write two letters to encourage Christians to stand firm under the severe persecution they faced.  “Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”¹ There is a battle for your soul, whether you like it or not, and whether you acknowledge it or not.  Paul wrote to Timothy, “that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”²

It used to be, and continues to be in some parts of the world, people attribute everything to the devil.  On the other hand, most of us in the western world today attribute very little to him and his activities, which is foolish.  We must be wise.  We must be aware of his ways, but always bear in mind John’s teaching: “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because

          greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”³

So, let’s break this down to simple terms, shall we?  Let’s say that one thing after another seems to be going wrong in your life—you get sick, your back ‘goes out’, there is discord at home, and an undue amount of stress at work.  Someone suggests that what you are experiencing is ‘spiritual warfare’ . . . right?  ‘Ever hear that expression thrown around?  Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.  The fact is, that most of what goes wrong in our lives is just ‘life’—it is living in an imperfect world with imperfect people; as long as we have breath, we must learn to roll with it, (and might I add, be an over-comer, so we are not beaten down by it?)  On the other hand, if you are being used of God in some capacity, the evil one would sure like to move you ‘off your game’, using some device or another to distract, discourage or deceive you.  If you are just another nominal christian, (yes with a small ‘c’, content with just five dollars worth of God), the evil one doesn’t really have to waste his time on you.   

“Yes, Father, protect us from the evil one.  Amen.”