Day 35, Monday, Book of Faith – Lenten Journey

The author’s emphasis today is based upon the newer translation of the Lord’s Prayer. Being saved from the time of trial is different than not being led into temptation. Today the author focused heavily upon trials in this life, but did so in a way that I was more used to having emphasized in the next the petition, “deliver us from evil.” The terrors and tragedies of life are very real and they have an impact upon our faith. Praying that they not come, or being saved from those times of trial, again sounds more like the concern of the next petition. What these times of trial do to our faith, I believe, is more the concern of this petition, because these times of trial can lead us to despair and unbelief.

This is what Luther emphasized in his explanation of this petition in the Small Catechism, quoted on page 101. “We ask in this prayer that God would preserve and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice, and that, although we may be attacked by them, we may finally prevail and gain the victory.”

So, yes, we are praying that we do not experience the trials and tragedies of life, but more so we are asking that God help us during them so that we are not tempted into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. We all know, when the chips are down it can be a great temptation to run away from God rather than to wait expectantly for God’s activity. I guess I share these thoughts because I don’t want to lose that emphasis in this petition. I think it is important that we not forget WHY we are asking to be saved from the time of trial. We ask this so that we are not led into temptation.