I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…

This petition of the Lord’s Prayer has always been important to my prayer life. It is in these words, spoken and taught to us by Jesus, we acknowledge not only that we are weak and sinful, but that in our imperfect human state, drawn to temptation, we can and do turn to God to help us. I am so grateful that Jesus just laid it out there – lead us not into temptation – naturally assuming that this is the direction we head, asking God to deliver us from the very thing we hate, but cannot help ourselves.

Martin Luther teaches us, in the Small Catechism, that it is not God, but the devil who is responsible for the evil in the world, and who leads us, and even tried to lead Jesus, into temptation.

“It is true that God tempts no one, but we ask in this prayer that God would preserve and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice, and that, although we may be attacked by them, we may finally prevail to gain the victory.” (From Martin Luther’s Small Catechism).

In my own prayers, and especially in prayers for my children and their friends, I pray that God gives us the strength to prevail over the many dangerous temptations that we face in our lives, and live in the light of Christ that God so graciously shines on us.

Prayer for today

Protecting God, guide our paths and keep us safe. Lead us not into temptation. Amen.