A father and his young son were taking a walk in the country. As they walked down the rough and slippery path, the father cautioned his son to be careful. Suddenly, the son fell and hurt himself. Bruised and in pain, he began to cry. The father picked up the boy and held him close. Amid his tears, the son said to his father, “Daddy, please hold my hand, don’t let me fall again.” Like that child, we’re instructed to cry out to our Father, “Don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

Words like temptation, rescue, and the evil one tell us that we live in a dangerous and hostile world. The world is not our friend. It wages a war against us (John 15:19-20, 17:14-15; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16).

There is a second danger too. Satan, the dark enemy behind evil, prowls around like a roaring lion—ready to tear us apart (1 Peter 5:8). As the prince of demons and ruler of this world (Matthew 12:24; John 12:31), Satan is a “liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). He’s particularly dangerous because he comes to us disguised as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Satan may be powerful, but he’s not omnipotent. The plea, “Rescue us from the evil one” affirms that Satan’s power is limited to what God has allowed him to have (Job 1:12; Luke 22:31). The words remind us—we who have been wounded in our battles against temptation and Satan—that God is the only omnipotent One.

God picks us up, holds us close, and rescues us from evil and the evil one. He “keeps [us] from all harm and watches over [our] life. The Lord keeps watch over [us] as [we] come and go” (Psalm 121:7-8).