What does , ‘And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one’, mean?
In James the Bible tells us that God does not tempt us to do evil, but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. That is what we want God to deliver us from. Evil in the Bible is different from what we call really bad sins like murder. What the Bible says is evil, is “the love of money is the root of all evil” Not allowing God to make the decision in life for you is called evil (rebellion) Seeking for signs rather than living by faith is evil (That is why you find sign seeking religions like healing and miracle denominations are always money hungry) .
Others have commented on “evil one” or just evil. It can be rightly understood either way. God does not tempt but He does test. As He does govern all things by His providence we are asking Him as He leads us to keep us away from those areas and situations where we are weak and might fall into sin. He teaches us to look to Him to deliver us and lead us because in our own strength we would fall. The Bible tells us Satan roams around as a roaring lion seeking who he can devour so we look to God to preserve us.
This reference is found in Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4. Luke provides the most detail of the reason why Jesus stated this: His disciples asked that He teach them to pray, just as John the Baptist taught his disciples. Jesus responded with a “model prayer,” giving examples of all the major components of a prayer that is pleasing to God. These components are self-explanatory, except for the last one: “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” We could guess what the meaning is, but it’s best to look at the original Greek words to be sure that our understanding is correct. The word translated as “temptation” in our Bibles is the Greek word “peirasmos,” meaning “an experiment, attempt, trial or proving; the trial of man’s fidelity, integrity, virtue and constancy.” A perfect example of God permitting an experiment or trial to prove a man’s virtue (etc.) may be found in the Book of Job. Job 1 reads: “8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job
