Teach Me to Pray: Lead Me Not into Temptation

 

In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:7-15 (NKJV)

Courtesy Google Images: Promise

So often believers are encouraged by the promises of God, yet find themselves struggling with maintaining hope in a seemingly impossible situation, long and difficult season, or what appears to be the opposite of blessing on our lives. We grapple with belief when hope is deferred. We turn our faces towards the God who can never lie and say, as the father did for his son who was overcome by a demonic spirit, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24 NKJV).

We can see that Jesus was talking with this father, asking questions, and the father said, "If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." To which Jesus replied, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." The New Living Translation says it like this:

"The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on. us and help us, if you can."

"What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes."

The father instantly cried out, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

One might ask what this story has to do with the Lord's Prayer (alternatively named The Model Prayer), we need to determine what is being referred to as temptation or evil. What do we mean when we pray for the Lord to not lead us into temptation or to deliver us from evil?

Courtesy Google Images: Path

A quick word study of the words temptation and evil will give us some insight.

In the Scripture Matthew 6: 7-15 the word temptation means trial, test, affliction, calamity, putting to proof/proving, as well as temptation to sin. We know from James 1:13 that God does not tempt us with evil, so it would be likely that the word in Matthew 6 is a test, trial, affliction, calamity, or something that would stretch us emotionally, physically, and probably psychologically. The temptation to sin would follow when we are faced with that metaphorical fork in the road. We can see the struggle and several options present themselves. One or two are definitely not the answer. But there are a few that have some merit.

For instance, this past week our family was faced with some stressors we had not anticipated in addition to the stack of stressors already weighing on our shoulders. On a personal level, I am weary. We've been battling a certain issue in our family. It seems never-ending.

In the past, we would resort to reason and logic to answer the problem. We would shift one item to fill the hole of the missing piece and hope to cover the lack we'd created in the other spot. But this is not always the answer. Working two and three jobs to make ends meet are not only exhausting, but at what cost? Family time? Rest? Marriage?

No. 

The first stop must be to drop to our knees and seek the Lord for wisdom, direction, and His peace. And this is how I ultimately responded. Because I have tried every other avenue and found only anxiety waiting for me.

This brings me to the point that a trial, hardship, or struggle is permitted by God to bring us to a deeper understanding of His grace and strength in our lives. When we are weary in the struggle and temptation to sin and take matters into our own hands will wait for us to give in.

If you do well,  will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. ~Genesis 4:7 ESV

Now, the word for evil is found 77x in the New Testament alone. Its definition is negative, meaning bad, wicked, crime, unsound, malignant, malevolent, slothful, inactive, envious, and covetous--to name a few. If we are asking the Lord to deliver us from evil, we need to link the request with "lead us not into temptation". 

Why?

Generally speaking, we are aware of our weaknesses, addictive tendencies, or struggles. It would be counterproductive to ask God to deliver us from something we are inviting into our lives.

For example, if I were to spend my days sitting on the sofa, watching television, and failing to seek and secure a reputable source of income. Eventually, the lights will be turned off, heating/cooling will be unavailable, and probably an eviction notice will find its way to my hands.

I could declare the promises of God for provision and sit under a tree and wait for the landslide of cash. I could become angry that God failed to provide. Or I could accept responsibility for inviting trouble into my life by not adhering to God's word that says, "For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10 ESV).

Conversely, if I were doing everything I knew to do, and circumstances out of my control presented themselves. It is not unreasonable to think that God would provide a way out of the situation.

I will confess, of the innumerable times my family and I have found ourselves in some sort of struggle, whether by our own making or uninvited, God has been faithful to strengthen, direct, and encourage us in some way. He has given us opportunities and creativity as a way to provide for monetary and physical needs. So when age-old familiar struggles taunted our morale, I turned into my little office to sit in the darkened room and call on the only One who could help. Confessing to Him, the problem in our situation is not His Word, His promises, or His power to fix things. The problem lies with me. I am a broken human who is in desperate need of my Savior to mend the shattered pieces.

So I cried out like the father in Mark 9:

LORD, I believe. Help my unbelief. Deliver me from the evil one.

The Lord is not surprised by our struggle to hold onto faith and belief. He knows our trials--testing, proving, temptation--are both to strengthen our faith and show us how mighty he is to all who will see.

Until next time,  Karlene J 💜