This document discusses the meaning behind the phrase "lead us not into temptation" from the Lord's Prayer. It explains that God does not tempt humans, as tempting would go against his nature. Temptation comes from within ourselves and from the devil trying to lure us away from God. As Christians, we must resist temptation through trusting in God's strength and grace, rather than giving in to our own desires. While God allows difficult situations to test and strengthen our faith, he provides a way to withstand temptation and will not allow us to be tempted beyond our endurance. We should pray to God to protect us from falling for temptation and to deliver us from the influence of the evil one.

1. Lead us Not into Temptation – 30th
July 2016
“…andleadus not intotemptation, but deliver us fromthe evil one”(Matthew6:13).
"Leadus not intotemptation"isafamiliarphrase forall Christiansfromthe Lord'sprayer.What did
Jesusmean? Some people inquire:WasHe implyingthatGodcouldleadsomeone intotemptation?
In relevance tothe same subjectwe canlearnfrom James 1:13-14, "Whentempted, no one shouldsay,
“Godistempting me.” For Godcannot be tempted by evil, nordoes he tempt anyone;14
but each
person istempted when they are dragged awayby their own evil desire andenticed.." As human
nature,we are alwaysreadytoshiftthe blame onanother…includingGod!.We have come across
people whosay“God made me do it” whencaughtforheinouscrimessuchas murderor evenbombing
innocentpeople. Asstatedinthe above passage we cannotblame Godfor ourtemptations. We needto
knowthat Sinisnot a sickness assome may claim,buta moral failure andwe will have toface judgment
eventually.We mayalsoblame othersorour circumstances,whichare notthe cause of sineither.Sin
comesfromwithinus.It comesfromdwellingontemptationsratherthandrivingtemptationsfromour
minds.
We mustclearlyknowthatit isneverGod's desire forusto be ledintosin.On the contrary God teaches
us to get“away fromsin”and to get “closerto Him”.He teachesusthat if we resistthe devil,we are
promisedthathe will flee fromus.We canlearnthisfrom James4 that says, "Submityourselves,then,
to God.Resist the devil,andhe will flee fromyou." (James 4:7). We fail God due to ourfailure toresist
these evil thoughtsandalsoallowthemtotake holdof our livesasthe greaterpriorityforourexistence.
As Christianswe mustalwaysrememberthatthe devil isalwaystryingtotakesusawayfrom God as we
can learnfrom 1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert andof sober mind.Your enemy the devil prowlsaroundlike a
roaringlionlookingfor someoneto devour”.
Why wouldourFatherinHeaven,whoknowsall things,leadusintotemptation?Goddoesn'ttemptus,
it isthe evil one whodoesthatpart and we allow it.We fail.Butas Christianswe mustalsoknow that
God allowsusto be put intosituationswhere ourfaithistestedandstrengthened.We canlearnthis
from1 Corinthians10:13, "Notemptationhas seizedyou except what is commonto man. And Godis
faithful;hewill not let yoube tempted beyondwhat you canbear. But when you are tempted, he will
alsoprovide a way outso that you can standup under it."
As Christianswe canunderstandthatcircumstancesare a meansof whichmakesus to know ourtrue
character at any stage of our spiritual growth.The circumstancesare notthe cause of temptations.But
it isalsoimportantto rememberthatwe are unable toresisttemptationwithoutGod'sgrace.We are
calledtotrust the Lord (notourselves) forstrengthtoresisttemptationbefore itbecomessin.Firstwe
become captivatedwiththe temptationwhichwhenwe allow ittotake rootit thenleadsusto sin.We
fall praydue to our own lackof resistance andtrustinthe Lord fordeliverance.JesusChristwasGodin
humanform andHe can identifywithourstruggles.We canreceive agoodunderstanding from
Hebrews 4:14-16, "Therefore, since we have a great highpriest whohas gone throughthe heavens,
Jesus the Son ofGod,let usholdfirmly to the faithwe profess.For we do not have a highpriest who is

2. unableto sympathizewith our weaknesses, but we haveone who has been tempted in every way, just
as we are - yet was withoutsin.Let us then approachthe throne ofgrace with confidence,so that we
may receive mercy andfindgrace to helpus in our time of need."
As Christians,we are ina constantstruggle withthe desiresbornof oursinful natures –‘ShouldIplease
myself orGod? Most timeswe take the easywayand please ourselves. Therefore we mustclearly
believethatwe are inconstant needof God's strengthandguidance,sothat ourneedsanddesiresare
keptinproperbalance as God requiresfromus. Therefore whenwe pray “leadusNotintoTemptation,”
we are askingGod to protectus fromtemptation…andwe alsoask Himto setus free (deliverus) from
the evil one”. We are familiarwith lastpartinthe Lord ’s Prayeras we read from Matthew 6:13, “And
lead usnot into temptation, but deliverus from the evil one”.