Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray ,
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil".
This very prayer spoken from the mouth of Jesus Christ underlines the need and importance for us to pray that God would keep us from being tempted and that he would deliver us from the clutches of the evil one. The word of God very clearly testifies that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the darkness of this world.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Eph 6:12.
But does God "lead us into temptation"?
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted , when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. And then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:13-15
This verse makes me believe that if I am a slave to something, I am to be blamed for it because at a point way back I yielded myself to it. I failed the test that was set before me. This verse clarifies that God does not tempt us but then the question is why would he allow us to be tempted? Let me draw my point using two very influential characters from the Bible, who have made a big impact in my own life.
The first character is David. The Bible says that David was the man after God's own heart. This very man who won the favour and anointing of the Lord could not pass the test which was set before him. It was a moment where he had to make a choice and he made the wrong one. This wrong choice led him to make another wrong choice and finally took away the child he received through Bathsheba. Now David repented and God forgave Him. I believe that God does forgive our sins but there is a price we would have to pay for the disobedience.
Can a man carry fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk upon hot coals and his feet not be scorched? Prov 6:27-28
This is what Prophet Nathan had to say about David's disobedience:
"Howbeit because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die." 2 Sam 12:14.
The agony of David and his cry to God to cleanse him, forgive him and to cast him not from his presence can be read in Psalm 51. He cries out for mercy saying,
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions". Ps 51:1
Our sins may not be as grave as adultery but at one point or the other all of us are guilty of disobedience, all of us are guilty of satisfying our own desires rather than the desires and will of God.
Lets move to the other character Joseph. Joseph had a very fair chance to yield to Potiphar's wife and keep himself from being thrown into the prison. But he says," how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" and flees from that place. This too was a point of testing, but Joseph passed it as he made the right choice. Though Joseph was falsely accused and was put into prison for no sin of his, the word says that the Lord was with him and blessed him.
"But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison" Gen 39:21
Going back to where we started, why does God allow us to be tempted by evil. Firstly because through trials and temptations God tests our faith and the testing of our faith produces patience. This is to make us perfect and mature. This is a time when all the theory that we came across would have to be put into practice. This is a test of our love for God. Through temptation, God allows us to be refined into this likeness, teaching us that we cannot live a life holy and acceptable to Him without abiding in Him and without His grace. Through temptation, God helps us understand the depth of His mercy, He helps us comprehend His love. When we see ourselves in the light of our sins, we realise that there is nothing good in us as Paul says
"For I know that in me( that is in my flesh), there dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not." Romans 7: 18
But God also promises that he would not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear and He would show a way out of it. God has shown me that a way in which I can stand without stumbling when temptation strikes is by prayer. There is definite power in prayer. Also, we need to make every attempt to keep ourselves away from every thing or every circumstance that can lead us to fall and disobey God. Let us not give any chance to the evil one to lure us into its trap, for the whisper of the evil one is seductive and focuses on our area of weakness. Spending time studying His word is another way to keep ourselves strong. A young man can keep his ways pure by His word. We need to feed our Spirit rather than gratify the desires of our flesh.
Many times in our lives, we do face situations, maybe not exactly as David and Joseph did, but times when we would be put to test and we would have to choose the path we want to take. And many times we know which is the path God wants us to take but its hard for us to choose it. I am encouraged to know that Paul faced the same dilemma. He says:
"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." Rom7:15.
Knowing that God does allow us to be tempted and tested, how can we live lives pleasing to Him, holy and blameless? Where is the deliverance? It is a desire of every child of God to live as pleasing aroma to God. But is it possible to attain this by ourselves? The answer is a definite "No" . Paul says,
"So, I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand." . So how do I get out of this?
Thanks be to God that he has shown us a way out , in the death and resurrection of Christ. The word says
" There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit". Rom 8:1
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love" Eph 1:4.
So, as we yield our lives to God with complete submission and reverence, desiring to live a holy and pure life, God would provide us the grace to stand holy and blameless before His throne. But his grace is not a license for us to continue in sin. Far be it from us that we take His precious grace for granted and make a joke out of it.
"If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you." Rom 8:11
Let us watch and pray for strength in the face of temptation, for grace to be poured out from above into our lives through faith in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be fully equipped with the Armour of God, living lives worthy of our calling, set apart for His service.
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Eph 6:13
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil".
This very prayer spoken from the mouth of Jesus Christ underlines the need and importance for us to pray that God would keep us from being tempted and that he would deliver us from the clutches of the evil one. The word of God very clearly testifies that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the darkness of this world.
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Eph 6:12.
But does God "lead us into temptation"?
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted , when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. And then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:13-15
This verse makes me believe that if I am a slave to something, I am to be blamed for it because at a point way back I yielded myself to it. I failed the test that was set before me. This verse clarifies that God does not tempt us but then the question is why would he allow us to be tempted? Let me draw my point using two very influential characters from the Bible, who have made a big impact in my own life.
The first character is David. The Bible says that David was the man after God's own heart. This very man who won the favour and anointing of the Lord could not pass the test which was set before him. It was a moment where he had to make a choice and he made the wrong one. This wrong choice led him to make another wrong choice and finally took away the child he received through Bathsheba. Now David repented and God forgave Him. I believe that God does forgive our sins but there is a price we would have to pay for the disobedience.
Can a man carry fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk upon hot coals and his feet not be scorched? Prov 6:27-28
This is what Prophet Nathan had to say about David's disobedience:
"Howbeit because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die." 2 Sam 12:14.
The agony of David and his cry to God to cleanse him, forgive him and to cast him not from his presence can be read in Psalm 51. He cries out for mercy saying,
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions". Ps 51:1
Our sins may not be as grave as adultery but at one point or the other all of us are guilty of disobedience, all of us are guilty of satisfying our own desires rather than the desires and will of God.
Lets move to the other character Joseph. Joseph had a very fair chance to yield to Potiphar's wife and keep himself from being thrown into the prison. But he says," how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" and flees from that place. This too was a point of testing, but Joseph passed it as he made the right choice. Though Joseph was falsely accused and was put into prison for no sin of his, the word says that the Lord was with him and blessed him.
"But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison" Gen 39:21
Going back to where we started, why does God allow us to be tempted by evil. Firstly because through trials and temptations God tests our faith and the testing of our faith produces patience. This is to make us perfect and mature. This is a time when all the theory that we came across would have to be put into practice. This is a test of our love for God. Through temptation, God allows us to be refined into this likeness, teaching us that we cannot live a life holy and acceptable to Him without abiding in Him and without His grace. Through temptation, God helps us understand the depth of His mercy, He helps us comprehend His love. When we see ourselves in the light of our sins, we realise that there is nothing good in us as Paul says
"For I know that in me( that is in my flesh), there dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not." Romans 7: 18
But God also promises that he would not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear and He would show a way out of it. God has shown me that a way in which I can stand without stumbling when temptation strikes is by prayer. There is definite power in prayer. Also, we need to make every attempt to keep ourselves away from every thing or every circumstance that can lead us to fall and disobey God. Let us not give any chance to the evil one to lure us into its trap, for the whisper of the evil one is seductive and focuses on our area of weakness. Spending time studying His word is another way to keep ourselves strong. A young man can keep his ways pure by His word. We need to feed our Spirit rather than gratify the desires of our flesh.
Many times in our lives, we do face situations, maybe not exactly as David and Joseph did, but times when we would be put to test and we would have to choose the path we want to take. And many times we know which is the path God wants us to take but its hard for us to choose it. I am encouraged to know that Paul faced the same dilemma. He says:
"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." Rom7:15.
Knowing that God does allow us to be tempted and tested, how can we live lives pleasing to Him, holy and blameless? Where is the deliverance? It is a desire of every child of God to live as pleasing aroma to God. But is it possible to attain this by ourselves? The answer is a definite "No" . Paul says,
"So, I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand." . So how do I get out of this?
Thanks be to God that he has shown us a way out , in the death and resurrection of Christ. The word says
" There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit". Rom 8:1
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love" Eph 1:4.
So, as we yield our lives to God with complete submission and reverence, desiring to live a holy and pure life, God would provide us the grace to stand holy and blameless before His throne. But his grace is not a license for us to continue in sin. Far be it from us that we take His precious grace for granted and make a joke out of it.
"If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you." Rom 8:11
Let us watch and pray for strength in the face of temptation, for grace to be poured out from above into our lives through faith in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be fully equipped with the Armour of God, living lives worthy of our calling, set apart for His service.
"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Eph 6:13
2 comments:
Hey Kiki..
Good to see that God's been teaching us those valuable lessons through our trials and temptations. It is interesting to see Paul speaking about walking as the children of light through wisdom. "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is" - Eph 5:15-17
Thanks for the post Kirti! You have summarized the importance of the this line from the Lord's prayer quite aptly. I liked the scripture support too. Hoping to see more of your thoughts find a place here :-) GBU
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