John 17:13-19 Technically speaking John Chapter 17 is the Lord's prayer, the one in Matthew 6 is a model prayer. In the prayer of John 17 there are three parts: Jesus prays concerning Himself, about His disciples and then about believers in general. The key verse I'd like to consider is verse 15, "My prayer is not that you would take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one." From a selfish point of view, it might be rather nice to be taken to heaven very soon after one is saved. The down side to that is that neither you nor I would be saved now unless God had left saved folks in the world to witness to us. God's will, then, for us is to remain in the world to be about His business until He is ready for us to come home. He also prays that God protect us from the evil one. Jesus' model prayer of Matthew 6 asks, "deliver us from the evil one." The prayer of Jabez in I Chronicles 4:10 "...that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil," You may say that sounds real good, but my experience is that the enemy is all over me "like a rash". In John 17:16, Jesus says, "They are not of the world..." What He is saying is that their main focus is not on the business, interests and entertainment of the world order, but their agenda is the business of the kingdom of God. As Matthew 6:33 says it: "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Remember it is hard even for Jesus to keep us from someone we are hanging out with. Stop playing with the enemy's toys. Stop indulging in his games and activities. Think about Luke 22:31-32 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Fighting the enemy is serious. Don't take it lightly, but be encouraged, God sets boundaries between you and the evil one.

Protected from Evil