Matthew 6:13 is a prayer in which Jesus teaches his followers to ask God to keep them away from temptation and to rescue them from the evil one. It closes with a declaration that God’s kingdom, power, and glory belong to him forever. Jesus spoke these words as part of what is often called the Sermon on the Mount, addressed to a crowd of listeners in Galilee who were gathering around him to learn how to pray.
Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
Matthew 6:13 (WEB)
What Matthew 6:13 Means
The verse has two petitions. The first asks God not to lead us into situations where we would be tested beyond what we can bear. The second asks for deliverance from the evil one, meaning Satan or the evil that operates in his influence. Together they express a recognition that we are weak and that the pull toward sin is real, so we need God’s help both to avoid falling and to be rescued when we are in danger.
The closing words, “For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever,” are a doxology, a statement of praise. They remind the one praying that the outcome does not rest on their own strength. The verse does not promise that believers will never face temptation or suffering. It teaches us to ask, trust, and keep turning toward God in the middle of the struggle.
The Context of Matthew 6:13
The Gospel of Matthew was written for a community that knew Jewish practice well and wanted to understand how Jesus fulfilled and taught the Law. Traditionally the book is attributed to Matthew, one of the twelve disciples. The Lord’s Prayer appears in the middle of Jesus’s teaching on true righteousness, where he contrasts genuine devotion with showy religious display.
Just before verse 13, Jesus asks God to provide daily bread and to forgive debts, and right after it he explains that our forgiveness of others is linked to the forgiveness we receive. Read in that setting, the request to avoid temptation sits alongside a call to humble dependence and mutual mercy. The prayer is not a private formula but a way of living under God’s rule.
Key Phrases in Matthew 6:13
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
(WEB)
Paul assures believers that God does not allow temptation beyond what they can bear and always provides a way out. This pairs closely with the request in Matthew 6:13 by showing that God answers the prayer to avoid overwhelming testing.
James 1:13
Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
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James clarifies that God does not tempt anyone to do evil, which helps us understand that the request in Matthew 6:13 is about God guiding and protecting us rather than being the source of our temptations.
A Short Prayer From Matthew 6:13
Father, you know how easily my heart wanders toward what harms me and those around me. I ask you not to lead me into situations that will test me beyond my strength, and to guide my steps away from the traps I cannot see. Rescue me from the evil one, and keep my trust fixed on you when the pressure rises. Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, and I bring my needs to you with confidence. Amen.
