Tempted

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:8

Over the years, I have said the Lord’s prayer countless times. Many times the words come across my lips in a very route fashion with little thought or substance. But this blog series is giving us all a chance to stop and examine the words Jesus taught us. To carefully consider each phrase and wording to find the deep truth and conviction we should feel with each word spoken. In the past few weeks, we have looked at each line of the sample prayer Jesus gave to the disciples that day. In these few sentences, Jesus teaches us the importance of getting our hearts in the correct posture. With the opening words, we bring our hearts into a reverent posture as we glorify God’s holiness. Next, we acknowledge His authority, righteousness and justness as we ask for the ways of Heaven to come to Earth. Then we pray for daily provision and daily forgiveness from our faults and failures. Jesus was leading us towards a posture of gratitude, humility and dependence on God, our good Father.

Even though it may seem like the next words veer towards something unsettling and odd, they actually are not all that different.

In asking for the Lord not to lead us into temptation, we are admitting that we are so easy lured by the enemy within, our own fleshy nature In asking to be delivered from the evil one, we are asking for divine protection against an external enemy.

These words should challenge our hearts to recognize how easily we fall prey to a false sense of self control and internal fortitude needed to hold to God’s truth in times of trouble. These words also remind us that we are in a Spiritual battle. Every waking moment of our Christian lives we are at war with an enemy whose greatest desire is to have us sever our relationship with God.

In Genesis 3, the serpent approaches Eve and with cunning language, causes her to give into desires within her that she may not have even been aware of, but that led her down a deadly path.

James gives us a deeper glimpse into our own hearts so that we can get a better perspective on temptation and testing.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:13-15

This is the war we fight against the enemy within ourselves. Our human nature desires fleshly things. We want comfort and ease. We desire power and control over our lives. We want pretty things and tasty food. We want to be loved and admired by all. We want much more than we actually need.

God had provided a lush garden full of many trees, all bearing luscious fruits. Yet the serpent enticed Eve to see all the good God had provided as less than that which God was withholding from her. Surely, God was withholding the best for himself and not allowing her to partake. And just like Eve, we so easily fall prey to the same lies today. Those things we desire but don’t possess take on a somewhat magical call to our souls. We choose to believe they are inherently better than what God has provided us. Sometimes, this can look like compromising our integrity or circumventing God’s plan in order to achieve a goal or obtain an object.

Using an Old Testament story as an example. In the story of Abram (Genesis 15-20), God promised a son to him and Sarai. God didn’t provide a timeline and so assumptions were made that Sarai would soon be with child. But then they waited and waited, and no child came. Doubt set in that God would deliver on His promises. As so often happens, desire fed by doubt led them to accomplish the plan in their own way. This resulted in the literal birth of Ishmael, which created much family drama and sadness. While the birth of a child should have brought joy and resolution, because it was done outside of God’s will and plan, it simply brought forth chaos.

The evil one may whisper the doubt into our ears to tempt us, but we ourselves are to blame when we fall into temptation. Scripture warns us over and over again to pay attention. In Jeremiah 17:9, God warns that the “heart is deceitful above all things”. This is why it is so refreshing that in Ezekiel 36:26-27, God promises, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." In Psalm 139:23-24, David pleads for God to reveal any wickedness in his heart.

By asking God to not lead us into temptation, we are signaling to Him and to ourselves that we need both His provision and His protection because we are too weak on our own to successfully pass through the valley of testing.

Earlier in the book of Matthew, we are given the story of Jesus’ temptation by satan. This story in chapter 4 shows us how Jesus passed the same test that Adam and Eve failed. At each attempt of satan for Jesus to give into the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, Jesus counters satan’s enticement with direct quotes from Scripture. Whereas Eve misquoted God and failed in obedience, Jesus perfectly reflects

God’s will and is obedient.

In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us how to prepare ourselves for the battlefield.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

He describes all the equipment we need to dress ourselves for war, but he doesn’t tell us to go and fight the battle once we are armored up. Instead, he gives us two directives - stand firm and pray. He will fight on our behalf. We pray for the Spirit to enable us to stand and hold onto the truth that is found in Scripture. Stand firm in the truth that Jesus has already sacrificed Himself and died for our sins. Stand firm and know above all else, our hearts are not good, but God’s heart is always good and just. He will reward our dependency and our obedience.

Satan can merely entice us with false promises that will lead us down a path towards chaos and destruction. He is not omnipotent like God. He cannot control things, but he can watch us and learn our habits. He can see where our weaknesses lie and he can take advantage of them. He whispers in our ears so that we are drawn to the what our flesh wants. We go towards the shiny, the sweet promises of comfort, love an security. But they are false. We must know truth to avoid temptation. We not only have an external enemy, we are constantly at battle with our flesh.

In John 17, Jesus prays for His followers us to be soaked in the truth of the Word. He knows that in order for us to stand against Satan, we must know the truth. Truth that is only found in God and in the Scriptures He has given us. Our spiritual daily bread. we may not fall away. Using Scripture, Jesus thwarted all of satan’s temptations. We, too, must bathe our hearts and minds in God’s Word so that we will be able to counter the false attacks with truth.

However, Scripture tells us over and over that we will go through sufferings, and we will go through times our faith is tested. Praying that God will keep us from temptation is simply acknowledging our weakness and need for Him to help us make it through those times.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1Cor 10:13

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. James 1:2-5