Temptation

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil."--Matthew 6:13.  These words probably look familiar to all of us.  This is the closing phrase of what many people call the Lord's Prayer.  It should really be called the disciple's prayer.  This was how our Lord Jesus taught us to pray.  Matthew 6:9-13 gives us the full prayer.  But among the closing words of this prayer is lead us not into temptation.

Lead us not into temptation.  Temptation is a very real thing in our lives as Christians.  None of us are above it.  We will all be tempted to sin at some point in our lives.  I have yet to meet a person who has never been tempted by sin.  The prayer here is asking God to lead us not into temptation.  The initial question I ask is does God really lead us into temptation?  The answer is obviously no.  The following phrase "deliver us from evil" is asking God to deliver us from evil.  As long as we are in this world, we are going to find ourselves in situations where we will be tempted to sin.  So if God does not lead us into temptation, why pray this part of the prayer?  Well the point is more asking God to lead us, not so much the temptation.  If we seek God's guidance, we will be more and more victorious over temptation.

So how can we overcome temptation when we are faced with it daily? Well, I have found that making a conscious choice to remove whatever it is that could tempt you makes a world of difference. Here a couple of examples: Something you shouldn't be looking at on the Internet? Access the internet in a public place or place filters on your web browser.  For unmarried couples, I encourage you to spend more time in public places and/or in groups to eliminate the temptations that come with being in a relationship.  Fellas trust me she will appreciate it :-). None of us are above temptation.  In summary, my prayer is that the Lord will lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL GOD BLESS!