Lord's Prayer: Lead Us Not Into TemptationSampel

It’s not just our flesh and the world that tempt us. Supernatural beings are coming after us too. Classically, this is called being tempted by the Devil.

Jesus faced it. We’ll face it too. He says so.

It can be said that every Christian has a target on their back. Bearing the name of Christ makes you an enemy of the kingdom of darkness. Bear the name of Christ and you become an enemy combatant. The Devil is gunning for you.

Rarely will this happen in overt ways. You’ll find examples of demonic oppression in the Bible, and it still happens today. But far more frequently the Devil plays off our own conflicted nature and those he can use as puppets in the world. For all of its vivid, horrific imagery, this is what Revelation is about – the Devil using people, cultures, and governments as extensions of his will. It often comes in one of two ways – threat or seduction. A beast, or a prostitute.

John Eldridge, in his book Wild at Heart, talks about how the Devil often attacks in a three-fold progression. First, he’ll seek to entice you. Think of it as a bribe for going his way. If that doesn’t work, he’ll try to threaten you by scaring you into going his way. If that doesn’t work, he’ll come at you with a compromise. He’ll make it seem that giving into temptation in a partial way keeps the peace, makes sense all around, and is the best way.

Here’s the good news. Despite all the Devil’s rage and power, he can’t stand against you. The Bible says so. It’s not because you’re so strong. It’s because Jesus is. It’s easy to forget this. The Devil is terrifying and who can resist him? Jesus can. And in Jesus, you can too. More on this in our next plan where Jesus teaches us to pray, “Deliver us from the Evil One.” For now, recognize that temptation also comes from him. Ask God to guard you from it, and to give you the courage to stand when you’re in the midst of it.

Consider this today…

Consider all the ways you feel tempted. Ask God to empower you to stand strong against the Devil’s attacks.

If this plan helped you orient towards Jesus’s perspective on life and the future, we encourage you to subscribe to the other “Lord’s Prayer” plans. The next plan is “Lord’s Prayer: Deliver us from the Evil One.”