Lord, Keep Me From Evil

LORD, KEEP ME FROM EVIL

" ... keep me from evil, that I will not cause pain!" 1 Chronicles 4:4

I think you already know this, guys -- "sin is always crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:7) And we can testify that even though we are to be dead to sin and alive to God, "sin so easily entangles us" (Hebrews 12:2) if we allow it to reign in our hearts.

I have shared these principles before, but they are worth repeating again and again:

1. Sin will always take you further than you want to go.
2. Sin will always cost you more than you are willing to pay.
3. Sin will always keep you longer than you are willing to stay.

As I have been reading through the Psalms each day coupled with Proverbs, I have notice how many times David has asked the Lord to keep, guard, protect and deliver him from evil. This comes from the pen on the one whom God referred to as "a man after His own heart," yet the King who fell into sin with Bathsheba which then resulted in the murder of her husband, Urriah.

I realize every day how easily it would be for me to fail and be another statistic. During the past several months, I have been daily praying and asking the Lord to guard, keep, preserve, rescue and deliver me from temptation and evil. I want to be "more than a conqueror."

Yesterday I read a powerful prayer in Psalm 141:3-4. I am working on memorizing this prayer:

"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not incline my heart to ANY evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness With men who do iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies."

I want to take this prayer apart during the next couple of times I share Freedom Fighters with you. It is one of those prayers that I believe is important to pray often, if not daily. Will you join me in memorizing and praying it? I trust I can count on you! -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Psalm 143-145; Proverbs 4; 1 Corinthians 14:21-40

Great Quote: The story is told of a farmer who was known for his generous giving and whose friends could not understand how he could give so much and yet remain so prosperous. One day a spokesman for his friends said. "We can't understand you. You give far more than any of the rest of us and yet you always seem to have more to give." "Oh that is easy to explain," the farmer said. "I keep shoveling into God's bin and God keeps shoveling back into mine and God has the bigger shovel." -- Herbert Lockyer