DAY 98: LEAD ME NOT INTO TEMPTATION
”And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.“
MATTHEW 6:13 NKJV
I often ask myself why Jesus would add this to the prayer list. Then I realized that He knew what He was talking about. After He was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit led Him to the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. So He knew what it felt like to be led into temptation.
But the tricky thing is, we know from the book of James that God tempts no one. We are tempted because of our own lust. But Jesus had no lust in Him so He had to be led because that was a necessary human experience. Still, He lived it and He knew how it felt.
Is it any wonder that He taught us to pray against it? As our High Priest, who feels the feelings of our infirmity, He knows that temptation is not easy to overcome. Yet it is part of our stay on the earth. We will always be faced with temptation but we don’t always have to succumb to it and we do that by praying.
Prayer strengthens us so that in the time of temptation we do not fail. Jesus said
“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” –Matthew 28:41
Prayer is the only way we overcome temptation. We have to stay prayed up. God does not tempt us but He delivers us from temptation.
Prayer
Lord, give me the grace to overcome temptation when it comes. Thank you for strengthening me in my inner man. I decree that I’m not prey to temptation I stand firm in my faith and I’m protected and preserved when temptation comes. in the name of Jesus
