Day 19:Lead us Not into Temptation
So here we are, at the final line of The Lord's Prayer. We've come far since those first days of trying to flesh out why we pray or why we don't pray. It is my sincere desire that over the past 18 days we have not just learned more about prayer, but that we have actually been formed in prayer. That we have entered into it deliberately and regularly, and that through it we have experienced transformational communion with the Lord, that we've known His presence and fresh renewal in our relationship with Him. I pray we have somehow discerned it's not enough to simply know Him, there is a treasure to be found in truly loving him. With all; heart, soul, mind and strength.
The final line of the prayer, "Lead us not into temptation," always brings to mind my very first RA in my university dorm. Her name was Maria. Still is as a matter of fact. I was a young freshman transplanted from the prairies and she was a short Italian west coast senior. My first day on campus found us running around doing something and mid-stride she stopped, turned to me and said, "I think we're going to be good friends." I took her word for it and never looked back. I loved her and wanted to be like her. She made me laugh hard and think hard and work hard. I'll never forget this one time in the bathroom of our dorm, where all the deep conversations happened(okay and some not so). She had confessed to me some struggle with temptation she was having(this was a rare occasion - I think she was perfect) and in the next breath said, "So I asked the Holy Spirit to ring a bell in my head every time I start to do that." I have no idea the rest of the conversation because for me time stopped right there and that line bounced around in my head for a few minutes before finding a resting place deep in my long term memory. At the time I cannot promise I wasn't wondering what exactly the bell sounded like; was it similar to an old Schwinn bicycle, or more like something you'd find around the neck of Old Bessy on the farm? In any case, despite my young, foolish, freshman mind...this stuck with me. That you could ask God to warn you in such a way at the moment of temptation was a novel thought to me for some reason, and I have to admit that over the next 28 years(!) I found need to borrow Maria's prayer on more than one occasion. Suffice it to say, I wasn't surprised to see Jesus instruct his disciples to pray, "Lead us not into temptation."
After acknowledging and confessing their selfish tendencies and propensity towards sin and brokenness in the previous line of the prayer, Jesus now invites his disciples(and us!) to see God as able to guide in a new direction.
While our sin has been forgiven by Jesus' one time sacrifice on the cross, it doesn't mean we will never struggle with the temptations of our earthly flesh again. The writer of Hebrews says, "For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. We are both saved and being saved. That is the beautiful, tension-filled work of grace in us! In this line is a plea for God to faithfully pour out that grace, to lead us away from the sin and weakness that entangles and entices. And like Maria understood, he can and will do this.
We should also take a moment to talk about what this does not mean. Scripture declares that God does not tempt anyone nor can he be tempted,* lest we think this line hints at a possibility that he might try to do so. Rather it was understood as a recognition that but for the kind deliverance of our Father, we are headed in that direction(into temptation) by our own strength. Like the watchful parent who scoops up the toddler as she veers off the sidewalk and into the street, so the Lord sees our trajectory into cycles of brokenness and invites us to reach out and take hold of his ever-present, rescuing hand.
As we've prayed this line, not simply out of context, but flowing out of the previous lines of Jesus' prayer we can look back and see clearly all the temptation that lurks nearby: To question the love and goodness of our Father, neglect his transcendence or forget his immanence, love other things as most holy, long for the food that does not satisfy, or walk in unforgiveness despising the gift we've been given. The list is long and reflecting on it ought to make us keenly aware of our need for a guide; a good shepherd whose rod and staff comforts us in the journey.
Today we will read and pray out of Psalm 16. First ask God to continue to form your understanding of him by his word. Then as you read David's words, consider all you have learned about God through The Lord's Prayer. What do you observe in the text about the temptation David could be facing to believe something about God that is not true? Is there any struggle you might hold in common with David?
Then let's pray together. The words have become so familiar. Use the words of your own understanding to declare the truth of them back to your Father, and stop in the places where you need to wait in silence before God. Let him form your heart as he teaches you not only to pray, but to abide in Him; the vine that will produce fruit in you.
Our Father,
In Heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come...
Give us each day our daily bread,
Forgive us our sins as we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us,
And lead us not into temptation.
Consider what he has revealed to you out of Psalm 16 today. Confess your tendency toward temptation and ask him to lead you out of it and in new directions.
If you like, you can pray these other words of David from Psalm 27: "LORD, I will seek your face. Do not hide your face from me; do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or abandon me, God of my salvation."
Grace and Peace.
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