READING: 11 Kings 14-15, Luke 22:31-40
“Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Luke 22:40
It’s really so simple that we often miss it. In the model prayer, Jesus taught His disciples to pray this way: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). We know that God tempts no man (James 1:13), but we believers always face the reality of temptation and sin. To find victory in those battles, we need to pray that God would protect us from situations that result in the enemy’s seeking to lure us into sin. We desperately need His help to resist the attacks of the evil one.
Some time later, Jesus took some of His disciples to the Mount of Olives, where He challenged them to pray a similar prayer: “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Luke 22:40). The disciples would be tempted to sleep when they should have been praying, and they would soon be tempted to flee Jesus when He was arrested and crucified. They, of course, failed both battles. We know they slept, so it’s likely they didn’t pray as Jesus taught them to pray.
In both cases, Jesus directed His disciples to deal prayerfully with temptation before the temptation occurred. Too often, we ignore this teaching. We don’t pray before temptation, but instead when we’re in it ("God, help me!") or after we’ve fallen ("Lord, forgive me . . . again"). My hunch is that many believers pray much more the latter than the former. But, what might happen if we prayed as Jesus taught us to pray—that is, seeking the Father’s help before we ever face temptation? If we simply awakened in the morning and quickly prayed, “Father, keep me from temptation, and let me find my joy completely in You,” I’m convinced we would live more godly lives.
My practice is to pray a similar prayer every morning just as I’m waking up. That way, my feet aren’t even on the ground before I’m turning my attention to Him and away from actions that will be displeasing to Him. The process has hardly led to complete victory, but I must believe that my life would be much worse off had I not learned to pray before temptation occurs.
ACTION STEPS:
- Ask God to guard you from the evil one today.
- If you fall into sin today, quickly confess your sin in prayer.
PRAYER: “Father, lead us not into temptation."
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Kings 16-18, Luke 22:47-71
