Prayer Is Our Power SourceSample

Lead Us Not into Temptation

Perhaps the most puzzling part of the Lord's Prayer is the phrase, “Lead us not into temptation.” It's confusing. In fact, on first glance, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. After all, the Bible is clear that God does not tempt us. So why would Jesus teach us to say, “Lead us not into temptation?”

1. First of all, Christ is reminding us that we need to call on God’s help in the face of temptation. We’re calling on God’s help for strength through the trials of life and asking God for the strength to resist temptation.

2. But it’s also a plea for God to help us make the wise decisions that keep us out of vulnerable situations and to ask for the wisdom to develop a lifestyle that limits temptations.

3. "Evil" in this verse actually means "the evil one." The evil one is smarter and stronger than us. Not smarter and stronger than God, but smarter and stronger than us.

So, we need to call on God to give us the power to resist temptation and deliver us from the evil one. He wants to destroy our lives, but God wants us to live and live life to the fullest. It just makes sense to trust God and resist temptation and believe God will deliver us from evil.