Day 16 – Pray for protection for others
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” – Matthew 6:13 (ESV) (Part 2)
Notice that Jesus says, “lead us not” and “deliver us.” Not only should we pray for our own spiritual strength and protection, we should pray that God would protect and strengthen others as well. Jesus modeled this when He asked His Father to protect those who would one day become His disciples (John 17:15): “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” Jesus was aware of the spiritual battles that would come against those who would follow Him. If Jesus thought it necessary to pray for His followers to have wisdom and strength against temptation, we would be wise to follow Jesus’ example and pray for the spiritual protection of those closest to us. If you are married, pray for God to strengthen and protect your spouse. If you are connected to a church, pray for God to strengthen its staff and volunteers. If you are a parent, pray for God to strengthen and protect your children. And so on.
Ask the Lord to strengthen those closest to you against the temptations that will surely come against them in their daily lives. Ask that God would fully satisfy them with Himself to the point that temptation would become less appealing in their lives.
