Praying the Lord's Prayer - Lead us not into Temptation

Jesus said to them, "Lead us not into temptation.”

Temptation is mostly seen in a negative light, mainly, because we have a very poor track record of resisting it.

Temptation is sometimes called trials or tests. These trials or tests are not designed to bring us down but to strengthen our character. They are given to us to develop our trust, faith and belief in the power of God.

This petition is about being able to meet and master temptation through the power of God.

We are asking that when we face temptation, we have the power not to be drawn into its power but through the power of God, we may say NO and walk on by.

Let us use a prosaic illustration to make the point clear. A man whose special weakness is drink has daily to pass a pub on his way home from work. There is, we will imagine, no alternative road. So it would be vain to ask that he should not be brought to temptation. It stands on his way; he cannot escape encountering it.

But we can pray that he may not be brought into it; that he may pass by the door without entering. And each time God's power enables him to do that he will be not a worse but a better man, because he has come to temptation without coming into it; he will be the more likely to conquer again next time.

The more we are able to say NO through the power of God when temptation comes, the better able are we to walk on by and hence the stronger we become in the Lord.

Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so

provide you with a way out. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Read the Lord’s Prayer. Reflect on when temptation came by and you were able to say NO. Did God give you the power to say No or was it done in your strength or was there a mixture? Give thanks to God for the times He enabled you to say NO.