Matthew 6:5-15
Verse 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Yesterday we talked about how the enemy likes to tempt us and we mentioned about our need to have the Holy Spirit’s help in fighting that temptation. In fact, Jesus was teaching us to pray for deliverance from the evil one. But how is that possible?
Praying for deliverance isn’t about the enemy never bothering us again. While we are on earth he is still able to tempt us, but he can’t have control of us if we choose against him. The phrase, “the devil made me do it” is really saying, “I wanted to follow him and do what I wanted to do.” Part of our choice in the moment of temptation is if we are going to love God or ourselves and the enemy more.
Remember Jesus was asking God for deliverance from the evil one. This is sometimes how we get tangled up in the deeper temptations of life to begin with. It is so easy to fixate on the temptation and where it is coming from instead of fighting the temptation itself. In fact we would be wiser to take notice why it may be a temptation in our lives to begin with.
If we find ourselves fighting the same kind of temptation over and over there is probably a reason the enemy keeps tempting us in that area. More often than not it is because we are weak in our faith in that area of our lives. For example, if we struggle with overeating, snack foods can be a big temptation for us. Maybe those foods are a faux source of comfort for us and instead of turning to God with the things on our hearts we allow the enemy to draw our attention to another source of comfort.
That is only one example where we can see the enemy using our weaknesses to cause us to turn to something other than the Lord. This prayer of deliverance may be viewed as a plea to the Lord for Him to help us in our weakness. A cry out to Him to show us where we need His guidance more so we aren’t in a place to be tempted by the enemy. If we are serious about wanting to be delivered from the evil one we need to ask God to point out the places in our lives where we need His strengthening. Or more likely we already know them and need to ask His help to be delivered from those weakness.
Making It Personal
What are the weakness areas you know are in your life? Have you asked God to help you work on those weaknesses in your life? Do you want to get rid of your weaknesses?
Making It Personal Kids
What does the enemy know is a weakness for you? Have you asked Jesus to help you be stronger in that area of your life? What area do you want His help in today?
Closing Prayer
Father, we repent of not asking for Your help in getting rid of the weaknesses in our lives. Give us the wisdom we need to know how we can grow stronger in You in those areas of our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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