Lead Us

Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:13 to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” As disciples, we battle with sin and evil. It is inevitable. We are amid spiritual warfare, and so we must pray for God to lead us during our battles—not into temptation, but away from it. The key to understanding what this phrase means is understanding that the Greek word for “temptation” has two meanings. It can mean to tempt one to sin, or it can mean a test or trial to prove the validity of one’s faith. Obviously, God does not tempt anyone with the goal of causing them to sin. 

James 1:13-15 teaches us that God never tempts anyone to evil. Instead, we are tempted by our own desires, and those desires can “lead us” to sin. We must pray that God leads us away from our own desires and toward Him! The meaning in Matthew 6:13 is most likely asking God to “allow us to be spared from difficult circumstances that would tempt us to sin.” In other words, it leads us away from ourselves and closer to Him. 

This idea really connects with the prayer that Jesus later asks Peter, James, and John to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matt. 26:41: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus knew there was a progression that sin takes. Tying it with the passage in James 1, here is the progression:

1. YOU SLEEP. We fall asleep. We become complacent, become weary, and stop noticing (the frog in the progressively heated kettle). Jesus calls us to stay awake and pray because if we don’t, we may find ourselves moving to the next step of temptation…

2. YOU BELIEVE. When we are lulled to sleep, we are more vulnerable to believing the lies that surround our desires. The lies tell us that the wrong we are contemplating is not that bad. “It’s not that serious,” we tell ourselves. And when we begin to believe these lies because we really want whatever that thing is, then we move to the next step of temptation…

3. YOU ACT. We then act on what was presented to us. The crazy thing is, the moment we give in, we are dismayed and disgusted by our own defeat.

4. YOU HIDE. We try to hide our sins. We attempt to excuse or conceal it from God and others.

‌This process reminds me of a story I once heard. There was once an overweight guy who always stopped by a bakery on his way to work in the morning to pick up some goodies for the staff coffee break. After some time of being concerned with his weight and eating habits, he finally decided to go on a diet. To avoid the temptation to eat his morning sweets, he began taking a different route to work so he didn’t have to go by the bakery and be tempted. The entire office staff encouraged him as he dieted.

One day, however, he had to do an errand in the neighborhood of the bakery on the way to work. As he approached the bakery, he said to himself, “Maybe God wants me to stop at the bakery this morning and pick up some goodies for the office staff.” So, he prayed, “Lord, if you want me to stop at the bakery this morning, make a parking spot available right in front of the bakery so there is no question in my mind that this is what you want me to do.” And so, sure enough, there it was, a parking spot, right in front of the bakery—on his sixth trip around the block.

We must own our temptations. They are ours. God doesn’t tempt us with them. But He does allow Satan to tempt us. And this is a certainty: Satan knows our greatest temptations. Satan will continuously throw those temptations in our way. Satan tempts us to make us fall; God tests us to help us stand in our faith and prove our commitment to Him.

Deliver Us

‌But our prayer is not only to “lead us”—it’s also to “deliver us.” Disciples of Jesus should never pray to be brought into situations that tempt us but should pray to be delivered from them. Struggle and temptation can make obedience to God extremely difficult. We should pray to be delivered from temptation and instead be led in “paths of righteousness” (Ps. 23:3). The best protection from sin and temptation is to turn from evil (or the evil one) and to God and to depend on His direction.

‌How do we do this? Elmer Towns once shared “Four Principles for Meeting the Attacks of the Enemy.” These principles outline an approach to spiritual warfare, providing us with guidance on how to combat the attacks of the enemy effectively. 

• The Principle of Respect: This principle emphasizes the importance of recognizing God's superiority over the enemy’s power. Scripture tells us that we need not fear Satan (1 John 4:4). It calls us to greater reliance on God rather than on one’s own strength.

• The Principle of Removal: Here, disciples are encouraged to exercise wisdom and discernment in avoiding temptation. By fleeing from sinful desires and pursuing righteousness, we can safeguard ourselves from falling into the traps the enemy sets (1 Timothy 6:11). 

• The Principle of Resistance: This principle emphasizes taking a decisive stand against the devil (James 4:7). By submitting to God and resisting the devil, we can overcome temptation and see the enemy flee from us. This principle highlights the importance of steadfastness in faith and refusal to yield to the enemy's plans.

• The Principle of Readiness: Here the emphasis is on being spiritually prepared to face spiritual battles. By maintaining a relationship with God and applying His Word, we can equip ourselves with the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-14). 

Paul teaches us that the various components of the armor represent different aspects of spiritual protection and offense: the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit. But, most people miss one vital piece of the armor of God. They believe the armor finishes with the Sword of the Spirit. That is not where Paul ends. In fact, Roman armor had a weakness: It was all for frontal attack. That means it left the backside vulnerable. Not so with God’s armor. The final piece of armor (Ephesians 6:18) brings us not only protection from the back but also the power to move forward: PRAYER! 

Prayer is our way of asking God to lead us not into temptation but to deliver us from evil through His grace and power! This is the only way we can be victorious. This is the Lord’s prayer, and it should be our own.