Deliver us (Pt.3): Know your deliverer

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, one of the things he told them to pray for was deliverance from evil (Matt. 6:13). This was important because sooner or later, all Christians learn that alone they are no match for the enemy—they cannot avoid, out-smart, or out-maneuver him. Jesus wanted his followers to know that God is available, willing, and able to deliver them.

The Bible presents God as the Deliverer. He is the believer’s way out of any situation, no matter how tough, complex, or longstanding. Just as the enemy uses many strategies to harm believers, God uses many more to deliver them. Here are a few.

• Direct intervention. This is when God shows up in an unmistakable way and stands between the enemy and his people. In these cases, God is making a point: I am God, the enemy is not. We see this type of deliverance in the Bible when the enemy is exceptionally oppressive and wicked, the kind of enemy with a hardened heart that wants to control, own, or enslave a person. Plagues and the death of his own child were not enough to stop Pharoah from pursuing the Israelites, so God parted a sea and drowned an entire army to get his people out (Ex. 14).

• God strengthens his people. Truth be told, we prefer the first type of deliverance. But God often simply gives us the grace or strength to endure the enemy’s assaults. God gave Paul the grace to deal with an unspecified “thorn in the flesh” or “messenger of Satan” (2 Cor. 12:7-9) and he helped David endure years of King Saul’s persecution. The assaults do end at some point, and if we cooperate with God through them, we come out stronger, wiser, and more resilient. We become even harder for the enemy to overcome.

• God exposes the enemy’s plans. The enemy and his plans are often hard to spot, and this is often a source of stress and confusion for believers. But God will open the eyes of his people, allowing them to see the source of their troubles and the intentions of the enemy. Joseph, Mary’s husband, was warned in a dream of Herod’s plot to kill baby Jesus and given instructions to flee to Egypt (Matt. 2:12-14). Jonathan told David of Saul’s plans to kill him (1 Sam. 19:1-2). In both cases, the enemy’s plans were frustrated.

• God gives strategies for victory. Whenever we are faced with an overwhelming enemy, and we know that there is no way we can overcome it alone, God often gives strategies for victory. 2 Chr. 20 tells the story of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. He was facing three armies, and it was apparent there was no way Judah could fight them. In that moment of desperation, they sought God and he gave them an unusual strategy for victory. It worked. Their enemies got confused and destroyed one another.

• God turns the tables on the enemy. The enemy is good at laying traps/ambushes, but every now and again, God orchestrates events that make him fall into his own traps. We see this in Esther’s story. Haman, the enemy of the Jews, had gallows built with the goal of hanging Mordecai on them (Es. 4:9-14), but a series of God-directed coincidences led to his hanging on those very gallows. The men who had sought to have Daniel killed in the den of lions were themselves thrown into that den and killed (Dan. 6:24).

• God protects his people. Psalm 91 is, for good reason, one of the most quoted psalms. We live in a dangerous world, and no matter our financial or intellectual resources, we remain limited, vulnerable creatures susceptible to all manner of harm. The psalm is a beautiful reminder that God will protect his people. When gullible but good-natured King Jehoshaphat was tricked into getting into a battle in which he did not belong, he was almost killed by an army that mistook him for their enemy (2 Chr. 18:30-32). But when he cried out to God for help, God drew the enemy away from him and spared his life. It’s comforting to know that even when our wrong-headed decisions get us into the enemy’s hands, God will still deliver us if we cry out to him.

• God sends help. Fighting the enemy can be exhausting, so God will often send us help. The help may be supernatural or it may come in the form of people who encourage us, bring wisdom or insight, or fight for us. God gave David a friend (Jonathan) in an otherwise hostile court (1 Sam. 19;1-2), he gave Esther the favor of a powerful king (Es. 2:17), and he sent Elijah an army of angels (2 Kings 6:16-17).

 How has God delivered you from the enemy?