Much has been written of this phrase. I struggled with it myself for decades. It seems so odd to say. Why is this here? Until… I understood.

It’s not complex, it’s not a mis-translation, it’s not difficult at all really, if you ARE being led. That’s the key! Are you led, every minute of every day? Into every situation? Every area?

If we are being led, if our life is minute by minute following the Holy Spirit, then this becomes no different than asking for daily bread! Why do we ask for our daily bread daily if God already knows what we need before we all him? Why ask anything actually? Doesn’t He just know? Why must we ask?

Humility and submission. We ask to show reverence to the Father in heaven. To respect that He GIVES that bread, that we do not deserve it. We ask to focus us on today’s needs only. Same with leading. We ask Him to lead us! But in that asking to be led is an admission of frailty.

Consider this scenario: drug addict, recently clean. He is still very weak in will power and knows that he will easily fall back into using if peer pressure and availability arose. So he prays, “Lord, please keep me from stumbling today, keep my old friends away, keep every situation of temptation far from me. Lead me to where I can succeed”. Suddenly this prayer seems perfect!

We are to ask to be led and to be led where we need to go. Led away from the things that we crave! Those things that are our downfall, our weakness! Those things our flesh desires! Keep us far far away from those things!

Otherwise we become as the young boy told to stay out of the water, who removed his clothes when walking near “just in case”. If we want to obey, we dare not go near at all! Stay away, ask God to keep you far far far from the temptation of what your flesh craves the most!

Deliver us from evil is the other half. We know how easily we each fall into temptation of that secret sin. These two phrases go together perfectly. “Keep me far far away from any temptation and snatch me away from these evil desires in my flesh”. We are asking to be kept clean from sin!

Do you dare? That thing you know is wrong, but oh you want it so bad. You hope inside that opportunity arises today to indulge. That person that you know you can’t resist, that substance that calls to you, that habit that feels so good, that behavior that seems so natural. PRAY that God lead you away from those things, that no opportunity arises to fall into that sin yet again. Pray that God continue to deliver you from the wiles and traps of the evil one and our own desires. Pray to be led.

Jesus is the answer. He will lead you minute by minute, everywhere. Just like daily bread, pray to be led away from temptation of your own lusts. Pray to be led as far away from what evil calls to us as is possible!