Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord!

In the final petition of the Lord’s Prayer, we ask our Heavenly Father, God the Lord, to protect us from temptations from the devil or from trials which are allowed by God Himself to befall us, and that He free us from the devil or evil in general.

Each one of us experiences in life varied temptations or trials. For some people, life passes by reasonably calmly, without any major problems, while for other people life is full of sorrows – illness, ailing relatives, failures at work or school, various misfortunes, etc. Why is this so? Why, for example, is life so difficult for me, while everything is going smoothly for my neighbour? How can we explain this? Of course, these are difficult questions, but be can come to at least some understandings. Let’s try to say at least something on this matter.

Firstly, let’s remember that the Lord God is exceedingly kind, for He gave up His only-begotten Son to an agonizing death for the sake of our eternal life. It is not He, who works tirelessly for our blessedness, that sends us sorrows. No, it is not God that tempts us, but the devil, who is always working to drive us away from the Creator. Although it is not God who sends sorrows and problems, it is He that allows them to transpire, because without His permission the devil has no power over us. Had the devil authority over the world, he would destroy it in a flash.

God allows these temptations for two reasons. The first is because of our sins, while the second is for the glorification of God through his saints. An example of how temptations come about because of sin is the following: a thief is caught, arrested, and imprisoned. All of the troubles associated with being arrested and imprisoned are direct consequences of a sin – theft. Any one of the saints is a bright example of the second reason. The righteous, as is the case with sinners, live through temptations. Occasionally these temptations are much worse than those which befall sinners. A holy person accepts all with meekness and, in such a way, clearly shows the power of faith.

If we return to our first thought, that God is exclusively kind and desires not the death of men, but their salvation, we are obliged to come to the conclusion that all temptations which are allowed must be ones that we can defeat. Each person has the necessary spiritual strength to battle those temptations and trials with which he is confronted during his life. Sometimes it is even good that there are trials, because though them we are given an opportunity to become closer to God and to glorify His Holy Name through our struggles. Of course, there is a frightful danger that we will not conquer our temptations, will fall into sin, and will be separated from God. It is for this reason that we pray that the Lord protect us from temptations and evil.

At the very end of this prayer, the exclamation “For Thine is the Kingdom…,” in which the Most-Holy Trinity is glorified, is added by the priest. In such a way, we are reminded that after any of our prayers it is necessary to remember to glorify our God.

Let’s take note that the Lord’s Prayer begins with the words “Our Father” and ends with the mention of the evil one. Let's try to put our Heavenly Father first in our lives and to leave in the past our association with the devil and in general all evil. Let’s use this prayer as a guide that leads us away from evil and towards God, so that through our repentance and our meek acceptance of sorrows the All-Holy name of God is glorified!

priest Alexis