Lead me on the right path - 14 November 2024

Our life of faith is a walk with Jesus on our path. It is not just a small part of what we do, it is a way of life. This journey of faith takes place in this world, and we as children of God are not spared the dangers and temptations that come across our paths.

With the sixth part of the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God will lead us on the right path. We ask God to give us the wisdom to discern right from wrong. Temptations will always be around; we will be tempted to do the wrong thing and make the wrong choices. With this prayer, we ask the Holy Spirit to make us aware of temptation whenever it rears its head. We ask God to protect us from making choices that will not honour him, and not be to the benefit of our neighbour and ourselves. We ask God to make us sensitive to the voice of wisdom calling us each day.

David set such a beautiful example of this prayer when he asked in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” With the sixth part of the Lord’s Prayer, we ask that our feet will be grounded on a strong foundation of truth and that our feet will follow the path of life where Jesus leads us.

There is a debate these days about whether the evil one is a person or an impersonal force. As I read the Gospel of Matthew, I read of an evil person who operates against the kingdom and plans of God. Jesus teaches us to pray that the power of the evil one will be broken over our lives. We pray daily to be delivered from his works and influence in our lives. When I pray to be delivered from the evil one, it also calls on me to change my ways, to not give any territory in my life over as a stronghold for evil.

When we pray this part of the prayer, it is important to remember the words of James 1:13-14: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”

With this daily prayer for protection against evil, we start our day by asking God to lead us on the right path, to make us aware of temptation and to protect us against evil intentions against us. We pray for wisdom and to live a life of integrity today that will honour God in all we say and do. We pray for victory over any plans of the evil one and a day spent in the goodness of God today.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that I can wander in your light today. Give me the wisdom to discern the temptations and plans of the evil one. Place my feet on the right path today, so that I may walk where you lead me, doing good to all around me, as a victory of your kingdom over the forces of evil. Amen