And Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Fancy Nanaimo bars

Back in 2019, I joined a small group called 'Freedom Sessions'. As I took inventory of my life, the question 'What is your drug of choice?' stumped me. When I asked my leader the question--"What if I can't think of anything"--she re-phrased it this way.

"What do you do to escape your pain?" The answer came easily after that.

Why does Jesus tell us to ask the Father not to lead us into temptation? Does He remember when the Holy Spirit led him out into the wilderness to be tempted? Does he recognize how difficult it is for us if we're not walking in the power of the Spirit to turn away from temptation? Jesus knows our every weakness and sympathizes.

Most of what we're tempted to do is to satisfy our needs without looking to the Father to provide and meet them. The temptation to be the one who finds her own way to satisfy her wants churns in each one.

Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29 NLT

In the Western world, each person is conditioned to 'do' things to gain self-worth, to prove significance, and to gain acceptance or approval from others. In the Eastern world, maintaining honour and avoiding shame weighs on and informs individual actions. The temptation pulls on us to save face rather than embrace the grace of the gospel. The plea of this prayer prevents us from walking in old traditions of self-reliance and turns our hearts once more to the only One who can set us free.

'Lead us not . . .'