Lead Us Not Into Temptation

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

This is one of the most important things that Jesus taught us to pray. 

This prayer is about the leading of God. God leads us by his Holy Spirit – “as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14). To be led by the Spirit means to go where God wants us to go and do what God wants us to do. 

We’re supposed to pray that God will not lead us into temptation.

We’re not always led by God. We sometimes do things that God is not leading us to do. 

Adam was not led by God to eat of the tree and ruin the entire Creation, but he ate anyway.

Abraham was not led to have a child with his maid, but he did anyway.

David was not led to avoid the battle, commit adultery, and kill the woman’s husband; but he did anyway.

These men were not led by God to do these things, did they them anyway. Then they faced problems as a result of their own choices. The word temptation also means testing.

We often do things God is not leading us to do, and then we face problems because of our own bad choices. It’s ok to ask God to help us avoid these problems.

However, praying that God will not lead us into temptation is about more than asking to avoid the evil consequences of our own bad choices. 

It’s like this: we’re doing what we should do, being faithful to God, but then he leads us to take a test for apparently no reason. We may be tempted or face another form of testing just out of the blue.

This happened in the Bible.

It happened with Job. He was a righteous man, but suddenly his life fell apart. He was being tested.

It happened in the New Testament. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit in the wilderness to be tempted or tested by Satan (Matthew 4:1). 

Paul was led by God to go to Jerusalem and face his enemies, where he would be arrested and imprisoned. 

Jesus wasn’t forced to go to the wilderness to face off with Satan. Paul didn’t have to go to Jerusalem to face prison. Jesus and Paul chose to do these things because they knew this was how God was leading them.

When God leads us to do something, even it involves testing, it’s better to do it. It will end up being a blessing in our lives.

Sometimes God leads us to do something hard, and we hesitate to do it. We may think there is a test involved, so we might even disobey God in order to avoid the test. God is leading us into testing, but we’re not going. This may seem like wisdom for us, but it ultimately will not help us. It’s always better to obey God, even if it seems hard.

It’s not easy to be led into testing. That’s one reason we’re supposed to pray that he won’t lead us into it. But if God does lead us into testing, we can go, confident that God will be with us and bring us through. God’s purpose is to cause us to grow stronger during this time.

Even if God leads us into temptation or testing, he will make a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). We don’t need to be afraid. God is a loving God, and he has a reason for everything he does. His ways are higher than our ways. And he will cause it all to work together for our good (Romans 8:28).

God, Deliver Us!

Jesus also told us to pray, “deliver us from the evil one.”

Satan is involved in temptation and testing. God does not tempt us with evil, Satan does (James 1:13). Satan is called the tempter in the Bible (Matthew 4:3). 

There is a difference between being tempted to sin and sinning. Jesus was tempted frequently while he was on the earth. He was tempted in all points like we are (Hebrews 4:15). But Jesus never sinned. Temptation doesn’t equal sin. Sin is a further step beyond temptation – it means acting upon temptation in order to fulfill our lust.

Being tempted is getting no sleep and being exhausted the next day; sinning is getting mad and shouting at everyone in the morning.

Being tempted is being sinned against by someone; sinning is not forgiving that person and becoming bitter.

Being tempted is finding a lost wallet; sinning is stealing the cash.

It’s ok to be tempted, it’s not ok to sin. 

A Puzzle

The Bible says it can be a good thing to go through testing. James said we should be happy when we go through temptations and tests (James 1:2), because these tests produce patience and other good things in our lives. Testing purifies us. It strengthens our faith. It’s the way into the kingdom of God.

The puzzle is this: if testing is a good thing, why not pray for more testing? At least, why not just let God do what he wants to do – if he tests us, then great? Why should we pray specifically that God will NOT lead us into testing?

I think there are two main reasons we are to pray not to be led into temptation/testing even though going through it can be positive. 

1. Satan. Satan is involved in testing and temptation. We don’t want to pray for Satan to act in our lives. We pray against the devil and his works, and we ask to be delivered from Satan.
2. Humility. We need humility. Testing is hard. We shouldn’t be overconfident. We don’t know how we will fare during the testing or the temptation, and we need God’s grace to get through. 

Jesus was tested in the Garden of Gethsemane. He didn’t pray, “God, bring me to the cross, that will be great!” Instead, he prayed, “Father, if possible let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus was praying not to be led into testing.

We should do the same. “God, don’t lead me into testing. Deliver me from Satan. Help me live a quiet and peaceful life.”

But if God does lead you into testing, you can go, knowing that God will be with you. He will bring you through as you trust in him. You will emerge stronger in faith. You will grow spiritually. He will be able to accomplish more of his purposes through you.

As Job said, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10).

God is looking for us to grow into spiritual maturity. To get to maturity, we will have to go through some tests and overcome some temptations. Let’s pray for God to not lead us into these tests, recognizing our own weaknesses. But when he does, let’s follow his leading, holding onto him in faith, knowing that he will bring us through.