This week, we move to our penultimate service in our sermon series following The Lord’s Prayer, seeking God’s deliverance from all that tempts us. Just as we spoke last week about how we sometimes don’t realize that we are in need of forgiveness, I suggest it may be possible that we don’t realize when we are tempted.
I would further suggest that we don’t always know what it is that tempts us. We might think our temptation lies in one place and find in hindsight that our temptation was elsewhere. In all of this, we seek God’s strength and wisdom to be delivered from temptation and evil.
Matthew 6:9-13 (GNT)
9 This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven:
May your holy name be honored;
10 may your Kingdom come;
may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need.
12 Forgive us the wrongs we have done,
as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
13 Do not bring us to hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.’
Consider these questions:
- The traditional (KJV) text reads, “Lead us not into temptation.” The version above (GNT) reads, “Do not bring us to hard testing.” What difference does this make to you?
- Where does temptation come from? Not in terms of unhealthy food or poor choices, but where does temptation ultimately come from? What is its source?
- When you experience temptation, what do you do? How do you respond? How do you resist? What do you do when you realize that you haven’t resisted?