Only a Fool Underestimates Temptation
by Gary Henry
WordPoints.com
"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).
We need to pray for deliverance from the evil one, as Jesus taught us to do. We often call this prayer the “Model Prayer,” and if that’s what it is, we ought to be modelling ourselves on it.
It is not pleasant to think about, but we have an adversary intent on destroying us. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8). This enemy is crafty, subtle, and devious. As Paul said, “We are not ignorant of his devices” (II Corinthians 2:11).
And Satan is not alone. Paul wrote that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). If we think we can “stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11) without praying for the Lord’s protection, our overconfidence may kill us.
We shouldn’t live in fear, for God is on our side, but neither should we ignore reality. The Lord taught us to pray, “Deliver us from the evil one,” and none of us is so strong that we don’t need this deliverance. Not only ought we to ask for the Lord’s help, but we’re fools if we don’t minimize temptation as much as possible, running away from it rather than flirting with it. Perhaps this is one area where it’s good to be a coward! “When you see trouble coming, don’t be stupid and walk right into it — be smart and hide” (Proverbs 22:3 CEV).
God’s protection should be a priority with us. It’s an indispensable aspect of the prayer the Lord gave us, and we need to imitate it carefully. Particularly in our morning prayers, we are wise if we anticipate specific temptations likely to arise during the day’s activities, such as selfishness, pride, anger, or gossip. We then need to pray for God’s help with our vulnerabilities. “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself” (Proverbs 27:12). A fool, however, pays no heed at all.
"A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is . . . A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in" (C. S. Lewis).
