Lead Us Not into Temptation

Many Christians are puzzled to see "lead us not into temptation" (Mt. 6:13, NIV) in the Lord's Prayer. Doesn't the Bible itself say, "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed" (James 1:13-14)? So if God would never deliberately lure us into evil, why should we have to ask Him not to?

The second half of Matthew 6:13, "but deliver us from the evil one," provides one clue. Only God can protect us from the influence of the real tempter, from an assault that continues until we are no longer capable of resisting (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13). God can actually use temptation to strengthen our faith and character--but only as long as we do resist. Every time we give in, we take a step in the opposite direction.

When we do fall, often we immediately face additional temptation--temptation to blame God instead of ourselves. Saying "I asked God to keep me from temptation, and He didn't," is as bad as accusing God of being personally responsible for the temptation. And praying "keep me from the enticements of evil" isn't going to do much good if we're simultaneously thinking "but don't ask me to give this up" or "but I won't be held responsible if even the remotest hint of temptation crosses my path." Just happening to pass a bar on your way home neither means God has broken His promise to keep you from enticements, nor absolves you from blame if you go in to get drunk--especially if you knew perfectly well what was on that street and that there were alternate routes home.

Determining to cooperate with God in resisting temptation, however difficult we find the test, is the only way to pray the prayer sincerely. Demanding that He do all the work--that He make temptation literally impossible for us to find--is both unreasonable and lazy.

All along the path of each mortal life
The temptations wait to pounce,
And across the roads that we take each day
Gaudy lures to evil bounce.
If we wish to keep in the steps of Christ,
We must let Him hold our hand,
For the Lord alone plans the path of life
And has scouted out the land.

Let us pray, "Dear God, watch the ways we walk,
And protect our lives from sin";
Let us also choose to observe our Guide,
Our eyes fixed alone on Him.
Through each day of life, on each way we go,
The temptations lie in wait;
But our Lord, our Way, leads us to the end,
Ever up toward Heaven's gate!