Matthew 6:13 Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
An everyday prayer should be “lead us not into temptation”. God does not lead any man into temptation. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed (James 1:13-14). This prayer is for protection that we might not yield to temptation and succumb into sin. The full time job of the demons is to drag us into our past weakness and push us into waywardness. They are alert 24/7 to tow us back into flaws and failures. As we have angels assigned to protect us, there are demons assigned to lure us into transgression, danger and destruction. They lurk around us with our profile, past history and the list of sins that have been forgiven. These are tormenting spirits that like to remind us about our silly mistakes and the spirit of stupor that overtook us. Our prayer keeps us from lending a listening ear to the condemning and condescending ugly demonic spirits.
Being reminded of the past mistakes is a torture. Listening to the reproach of the ridiculing demons is torment. The Lord has given us the stick to drive out the molester and protect ourselves from temptation. Hence Jesus warned us, Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41). If Apostle Peter had stayed awake in the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed that he would not be tempted to betray Jesus, he might not have fallen three times!
Prayer that protects us from falling into temptation:
- Weakness: The devil knows about our weakness and debility better than us. The demons are scavengers that collect the cancelled debts (sins), reversed curses and annulled indictments that were washed away by the blood of Jesus. When demons are inducted to afflict us, they are given a complete personal CV of our past and the weak areas of our family bloodline. Put on the protective suit of ‘the coat of righteousness’ that Jesus earned for us on the cross, to overcome the temptations. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Break weakness with the righteousness of Jesus.
- Worries: Other tormenting weapons of the bullying demons are apprehensions, anxiety and stress. The tempting demons will insinuate us with worries, agony and hopelessness. Worship consumes worry. Worship removes the fear of the future and fills us with faith. Replace worry with worship.
- Wanderings: Alertness and awareness of the craftiness of the demons will keep our mind from wandering. There are 1,440 minutes a day and even if we sleep for 8 hours, there are 960 minutes at our disposal. Let us capture every minute to think positive, progressive and prolific thoughts. Prayer keeps our mind from wandering.
Effective prayers keep us from the pits and pitfalls.
Ephesians 4:27 Do not give the devil a foothold.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, keep me safe from the traps and temptations of the devil. You are in charge of my life. Amen.
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