As we continue our study of the Lord’s prayer this week, Jesus calls us to examine the presence and source of temptation in our lives. Though we traditionally translate the prayer “lead us not into temptation”, it is best understood in a permissive sense: Do not allow us to be led into temptation.

First, we must ask where this temptation comes from. The concept of Satan in our culture has been watered down and romanticized as a mythic figure with horns and a pitchfork sitting on your shoulder, whispering in your ear, but the bible reveals him as someone looking for any and every opportunity to use his power to weaken your faith and watch you fail and he knows just how to do it. By downplaying sin’s wickedness, he presents it as reasonable and inviting. How can we resist such personalized and alluring invitations? How do we recognize God’s will versus the temptation laid before us by another? Jesus calls us to pray and pray regularly, “Lead us not to temptation…”

What if in the moment of enticement, we developed a habit of leaning on God’s strength through prayer? What if we prayed, “Help me to never reach for anything outside your will to accomplish my will.”

What if we trusted God to reveal our weaknesses and shape our desires? What if we trusted that through Him, we can be delivered from the evil one?