…Deliver us from evil (or deliver us from the evil one). — Jesus on prayer
I was in high school thinking through my newfound stance on pacifism encouraged by my reading of the words of Jesus. I have a fuzzy memory of sitting on the front porch of the house of a couple of girls I knew. Probably I was there to talk to one of them. But I was a socially awkward geek. My memories are of talking with their mother. She asked pointed questions probing the various ramifications of a pacifistic life orientation. We had to my mind great and meaningful conversations.
Some who adopt an orientation toward peace forget that Jesus tells us, as if we couldn’t figure it out on our own, that evil exists.
He told us to ask God to deliver us from the grasp of evil.
Most of us can manage to wander through life without coming face-to-face with evil. That is a blessing. Many cannot. It can intrude at the most unexpected times and places. Maybe from friends and neighbors we have known for years.
We can debate theology, but that leads nowhere. The foundation question concerns how we respond. Do we let evil become our master and respond to evil with evil?
Maybe we allow God to deliver us—maybe by providing the extra strength we need to confront evil and conquer it.
When we are living with God perhaps we are infused with trust that we can respond to each situation as God would have us—seek peace, confront with strength. And also ask for discernment so that we don’t mistake someone’s angst for evil and respond wrongly.
Faith Venture 
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