Matthew 6:13 — And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Terror, wickedness … Evil …
Evil is the context, the framework in which all human sin occurs. Love and evil are, I think, the two hardest of phenomena to understand. Today I want to have a go at, at least, some aspects of evil. I know full well that I can only scratch round the edges of some questions that are often asked — what is it, where does it come from, and why does it exist?
Evil is variously defined, and there are quite a lot of different words used for it in the Bible. In the Old Testament the main word is “ra” and the main themes are the rejection of God’s law and the denial of the rights of others. In the New Testament there are multiple different words. The two main words are “kakos” and “poneros“. The best distinction I have seen between the two is “The ‘kakos’ may be content to perish in his own corruption, but the ‘poneros’ is not content unless he is corrupting others and drawing them into his own destruction.” The word Jesus uses in His model prayer is related to “poneros”. He’s teaching us to pray to be protected from being corrupted and drawn to destruction …
Where does evil come from? There is an inescapable truth. There is nothing that does not come from God. Ultimately, wherever evil comes from, that source comes from God. Is that conclusion uncomfortable? The alternative is the heretical conclusion that there is something that exists independently of God. More directly, Jesus tells us:

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man. (Mark 7:21-23)

Evil comes from the heart of men. It has been that way since Satan planted evil in the hearts of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Why does evil exist? It’s a mystery that has engaged the minds of wise and holy people for thousands of years. Let’s be clear … God does not choose for evil to happen. That needs to be clarified a little, since there are times when God does punish people by allowing bad things to happen to them. But God does not choose moral evil. The key is that word “choose”. God does not choose evil. Man chooses evil, as the evil in His heart responds to the prompting of Satan.
You might say that these are very simple views. I might even agree. Who am I to describe in a short devotion what has occupied so many brilliant minds for so long? And is there no defense against evil? That, at least we can answer. Jesus directs us, as we have seen, to pray. And we have a powerful ally that Jesus has sent us — The Holy Spirit — if we have chosen to accept the freely offered gift of salvation.