What does it mean to ask to be rescued?
Rescue seems a strange word in The Lord's Prayer, right?
The final piece of The Lord’s Prayer tells us to pray for “rescue” from evil.
Some translations say “save” others even say “protect.”
But the word is probably better translated as “rescue” or “save.”
But…that seems an odd word to use, yeah?
My youngest daughter is in her “I do it myself” phase.
And, the other day, she tried to get a bathing suit on all by herself. And I hear the sounds of struggle and grunts of frustration coming from the other room.
So I walk in and she has somehow got her head and arm through the neck hole of this swim suit…but can’t reverse the maneuver.
So she looks at me, starts whine-crying, “Daddy, help.”
And that is, verbatim, what Jesus is asking us to pray.
Jesus wants us to ask God for help when sin and evil overwhelm us.
My daughter, in that moment, needed rescued from her situation. There was no protecting her from it. She wanted to “do it myself.”
But, once things went sideways, she called her daddy to come help her figure it out…
My prayer for today
Our Father, help me focus on your reminder to pray for rescue, not protection. We need to have the freedom to fail and grow and learn. But, thank you for being there in ways we cannot see or imagine when plans don’t work out and we call on you to help and rescue us. Amen.
Remember
Reflect on a time you needed help. Give thanks and gratitude if that help arrived. If it did not, take a minute and pray about that feeling of not being rescued in that moment. It’s okay to be frustrated or not okay if this is the case. Just tell God how you needed God’s rescue and felt like it never came.