“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”
This prayer that Jesus taught us to pray helps us deal with inevitable temptations and gives us the promise of deliverance from them. We are introduced to temptation in the beginning of the Bible with Adam and Eve. A temptation is a test that we have to deal with in daily life. Satan will put us to the test in all kinds of circumstances. We need to recognize Satan’s presence when we are tempted to do something that we know is wrong. Satan will make it look inviting as though we have to do what he is tempting us to do. There is no limit to the temptations that Satan will put in our way. Furthermore, we do not have to wonder if Satan is going to tempt us. There is no human being in the world that will not have to face temptation. We just need to recognize when he is tempting us to do wrong. Some things we are tempted to do, or not do, do not always appear as evil. Satan is good, or should say bad, at that. Perhaps, you are dealing with a temptation now, something that you really want to do. Read on: Jesus told us that when we face temptation, we should ask for His deliverance: “deliver us from evil…” This means that we do not have to fold in to the temptations that we face, for deliverance is available through the Lord. When Jesus was tempted in Matthew 4, He met each temptation with quotes from scripture. In Ephesians 6:16, Paul gave some guidance on meeting and being delivered from temptation: “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Jesus delivers us from temptation through scripture, faith and prayer. I don’t think that I have told you anything that you did not know, but these are tools of deliverance that we should actually use in meeting daily temptations and our deliverance from them. Deliverance does not come from our strength, but by the strength of the Lord. Jesus is bigger than any temptation that we might meet, and we need to hide behind Him. He sincerely means to deliver us from evil. He actually died on the cross in order to give us the strength to overcome temptation. He has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us to give us the strength that we need for deliverance. The good news is that we are not defenseless in our encounters with temptation and with evil. We need to use the faith and power that only the Lord can give us. Deliverance from temptation is abundantly available through Jesus. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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