Neville Turley

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NIV)

The prayer “lead us not into temptation” puzzles many Christians. Does God who is sinless deliberately tempt people to sin? The answer to that is an emphatic “NO”. 

In the previous petition Jesus had taught us to pray that our sins be forgiven and this prayer is that we will not crumble under temptation.

Throughout our life we will be faced with temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil.  Our Lord did not promise us a smooth passage when he called us to take up our cross and follow him. We will face trials and temptations as God moulds us in the image of his Son.  The choice we will constantly be faced with is, do we follow God’s way or our own way.

Henri-Frederic Amiel (1821-1881) the Swiss philosopher wrote, “Temptation is our natural state but sin is not necessary”. We need to remain obedient to the will of God.

Jesus himself, was tempted by Satan. He was well prepared for the encounter, having spent 40 days alone in the wilderness, praying and fasting. 

It is revealing that our Lord rejected each temptation of the devil by quoting from the Word of God.

It is written: – Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.  (Matthew 4:4)

It is written ‑‑ Do not put the Lord your God to the test. (Matthew 4:7)

It is written: ‑ Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. (Matthew 4:10)

When faced with temptation, we need to examine its implications through the filter of God’s Word.

Temptations often come when we are at our most vulnerable. If we rely on our strength alone and attempt to do things our way instead of being obedient to the Word of God, we are doomed to failure.

The Christian must always be on his guard. Watch and pray, the Lord instructed his disciples. We must do the same.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive us our many weaknesses. May the Holy Spirit strengthen us to resist temptation and bring honour to your holy name, for Jesus sake.  Amen