And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.     Matthew 6:13 NKJV

No matter how many times you read a passage of Scripture there is always something else to be learned from it. For example, I have read and recited this verse probably more times than I could count. We know that God does not tempt us. He doesn’t lead us into temptation, but He will give us free will to go there if we choose to do so. James 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”

We know, however, that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil according to Matthew 4:1. This was just prior to Jesus beginning His ministry. So, is this where Scripture contradicts Scripture? No because Scripture does not contradict Scripture, so let’s go a little deeper to explain this.

Jesus was fully man and fully God. He was tempted so He could understand temptation. We are told in Hebrews 2:18 that because Jesus was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

Unfortunately, temptation is part of life on planet earth. This is because the desires of the Sprit are in opposition with the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:17). As human beings we tend to want to cater to the desires of the flesh and this is why we are subject to succumb to temptation if we are not careful. God does not tempt us, but He does allow our faith to be tested. Job is a prime example of this.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that we have not suffered any temptation that isn’t common to man. We can trust in God to be faithful and not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability but He will provide a way of escape so that we can endure it.

We must understand that if we stay focused on God and do what we need to do to strive for righteousness, God will help us to be strong during times of temptation. This is what is meant when Jesus said, “and deliver us from the evil one.” When we submit ourselves to God we can stand against temptation. Just as Jesus quoted Scripture to the devil and used God’s word to fight the devil, we can do the same. God gives us all the armor we need to stand against the devil in Ephesians 6:10-18. Our armor is truth, peace, faith, salvation and our offensive weapon is the sword which is God’s holy word.

This is why James said in James 4:7 that we must submit ourselves to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. He also talked in James 1 about rejoicing in times of temptation and trials because this is how we become mature Christians. In James 1:12 he said we are blessed when we have remained steadfast under trial, for when we have stood the test, we will receive the crown of life.

While God does not lead us into temptation, He does allow us to be tested. He gives us free will to choose how we will handle it. We can surrender to Him and resist the devil, or we can succumb to the temptation.

Jesus clearly tells us here in our Scripture passage to pray for God to deliver us from the evil one. Prayer is a strong weapon against temptation. We must pray daily for wisdom and discernment to recognize temptation. We must pray for the strength to overcome it. Overcoming temptation is not something we can do on our own, we need God’s help and strength and His power. He will gladly help you to over temptation if you will only ask.

Have a great day!