Drop-Ins Unwelcome

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Matthew 6:13

Kelly Swisher of Arkansas was driving down Interstate 49 when a large rat snake fell out of her dashboard and slithered across her feet. Somehow she managed to pull off the road and call authorities, who came and captured the snake and sent Kelly on her way without further incident.

In a spiritual sense, that can happen to us anytime. We never know when we’ll have an incident with the old serpent, the devil. He lurks around, drops in out of nowhere, tempts us, tests us, and does his best to rob us of purity and peace.

On two occasions, once at the beginning and the other at the end of His earthly work, Jesus told us to pray about this. In the Sermon on the Mount, He taught us to pray, “Deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). On the night before His death, He said, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15).

Take these prayers seriously. Today ask God to protect and deliver you and yours from that old serpent, the devil. Our safety is in Christ alone, and a strong daily prayer life is crucial for avoiding wrecks.

When one has faith, one does not retire, one stops the enemy where he finds him.
General Ferdinand Foch, fighting on the Western Front of World War I