Praying Against Temptation

Today's Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:13
"God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability."
Read it online at the Bible Gateway: (NIV) (NASB) (KJV) (The Message)

Jesus taught us to pray, "and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13).

Here we see two requests: that we not be led into temptation, and that we be delivered from the evil one. Because we know from James 1:13 that God does not tempt anyone, the first part must be understood as a request that God will not providentially bring us into the way of temptation. It is the prayer of the believer who sees his or her weaknesses and prays to not even encounter those temptations.

Of course, if we're praying not to be led into temptation, we should take steps ourselves to see that we do not walk into the way of temptation. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, "Abstain from every form of evil." He exhorted the Corinthian church, "Flee from sexual immorality" and he told Timothy, "Flee youthful passions" (1 Corinthians 6:18; 2 Timothy 2:22). Flee, of course, denotes a stronger response than abstain, but both are necessary. We can abstain from certain temptations by not turning on the television or picking up certain magazines. But sometimes a temptation presents itself, and then we must flee. This is all part of watching.

The second request Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:13 is "deliver us from evil," or, in some translations, "from the evil one"—meaning, of course, Satan. We need to pray defensively against the attacks of Satan. Christ did defeat him on the cross (Colossians 2:15), and we must by faith lay hold of that victory as we pray that we will be delivered from his attacks.