Fridays with the Heidelberg

Lord’s Day 52

127. Q. WHAT DOES THE SIXTH REQUEST MEAN?

     A. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” means, By ourselves we are too weak to hold our own even for a moment. And our sworn enemies-the devil, the world, and our own flesh-never stop attacking us. And so, Lord, uphold us and make us strong with the strength of Your Holy Spirit, so that we may not go down to defeat in this spiritual struggle, but may firmly resist our enemies until we finally win the complete victory.

128. Q. WHAT DOES YOUR CONCLUSION TO THIS PRAYER MEAN?

     A. “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” means, We have made all these requests of You because, as our all-powerful King, You not only want to, but are able to give us all that is good; and because Your holy name, and not we ourselves, should receive all the praise, forever.

129. Q. WHAT DOES THAT LITTLE WORD “AMEN” EXPRESS?

     A. “Amen” means, This is sure to be! It is even more sure that God listens to my prayers, than that I really desire what I pray for.

“Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”  John Owen wrote those words, and they remind us as believers of the importance of our battle against sin.  The sixth request  in “The Lord’s Prayer” also directs us to mortify sin.  We are not on our own in this battle though.  In fact, if we were, we would have no power to fight.  We need the Lord to “uphold” us.   As we pray this way, we are demonstrating dependence on God to guard us, but also our own awareness to resist our enemy.