Please, Lord. No Temptation.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, 
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. 

I’m one of those pray-ers who can get in the rut of praying prayers that hit the ceiling. I fall asleep. Or I babble. A lot. Or I worry-pray, which is not worry-praying at all, it’s just worrying. Very unsettling and unprofitable. So, as of late, I’ve been referring to the Lord’s Prayer. Not as a mantra, but as a guideline. It helps me stay on course, and after all, the Lord did give it to us as an instructional tool.

As I’ve focused on the Lord’s Prayer, I’ve realized something else about my own prayers. I often pray “help me not _____.” Whatever. Fill in the blank. Or “help so and so to not _____.” And the “whatever” is often a very specific sin. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with praying that. It does say “deliver us from evil”, and sin is an evil. But what comes before that line?

“Lead us not into temptation.”

Our enemies are real:

The world.

The flesh.

The devil.

We do have more to be concerned about than our own sinful desires. Evil is in us and out there, both. And when it comes to any evil, I think the first thing to do is ask to be delivered from any temptation in the first place. It’s easier to avoid a third helping of brownie al a mode by never being tempted, rather than mentally toy with and agonize over the possible pleasures of savoring warm chocolate and cool vanilla on our tongues. And it’s certainly easier to avoid temptation all-together rather than find ourselves coddling a large bowl of ooey gooey deliciousness in our hands. For the third time. Before bed.

There are steps to falling into sin, and the Lord is encouraging us to pray against the very first step. Praying against temptation is being a step ahead of the game, which is actually a battle, not a game. Temptation isn’t evil in and of itself. It’s just the first factor in the process of committing, or possibly committing, something evil. So, first we pray …

Lead us not into temptation. Keep me from a third helping. Or a second. Or a first that’s too large.   

Then we pray …

But deliver us from evil. 

Much fun is made these days of the saying “put a hedge of protection around us, O Lord” –  perhaps because it’s been overused. But I think it’s legit. No prayer should become a mantra, as that presents the danger of mentally checking out. But the fact is, we all need to be hedged in, encompassed by the protection and power that only His Spirit can provide.

So …

Help, Lord. Keep me from temptation. Encompass me with your powerful protection. Guard me with your angels and Biblical, right thoughts so I might be free of evil, both inward and outward. Amen. 

Amen?