Matthew 6:13a – LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
Matthew 6:13a And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
Are you a proactive Christian or are you a reactive Christian? A proactive Christian will take the battle to Satan while a reactive Christian waits until Satan comes to attack him before he cries out to God.
God has given us the ability to be proactive in our prayers and to take the battle to Satan. We are given the armor of God that is able to protect us from the attacks of Satan. Our armor is not just defensive in nature but also is offensive. We have the Word of God which is as a sword and we have prayer that causes Satan to flee.
Temptation is something that all of us have to do battle with. We can either wait until the tempter comes or we can prepare for the battle that we know we are going to have to face ahead of time.
Have you ever found a way to scare someone really good? You knew that their mind was elsewhere and maybe you snuck up on them and shouted real loud. You probably laughed when they jumped three feet straight up in the air. Have you ever seen a little child try to scare its parents for the fifth time in the last 30 minutes? The first time they startled their parent because their parent was thinking something else and the child loved the reaction so much that they kept trying to go back and startle their parents. However, the parent is now prepared for the surprise that their child has in store for them and as such, the parent does not drop their coffee or jump three feet in the air.
As the child grows older, he will learn that while it is a lot of fun to startle someone, it is no fun at all to attempt to startle someone who is prepared and will not react. The same concept is true regarding temptation. If you are prepared to do battle with Satan every time he tries to sneak up on you and tempt you to sin and fall short of the glory of God, Satan will desire to go spend his time on an easier target. Satan will not leave you completely alone as he will see if by leaving you alone for a period of time that you might lay down your preparedness and he can score an easy victory.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Christ commands us to pray to God that HE lead us not into temptation. This means that we daily need to be seeking the Lord for strength to overcome the temptations that Satan will bring our way. When Satan comes and attacks us with temptation, we not only need to be prepared to battle against the temptation, but we should also think offensively and go and take a stronghold of Satan. If every time Satan attacks you, you use it to attack a stronghold, he will quickly figure out that he loses each time he attacks you.
In Jabez’ prayer, we are told that he prayed that God would keep him from evil. Jabez desired to not grieve God by yielding to temptation. God heard the prayer of Jabez and HE granted to Jabez the desires of his heart.
You too can turn your weakness into strength if you will stop being reactive and start being proactive with God. Take time to pray every day to God that HE will keep you from evil. Take time to put on the armor of God so that you will be prepared for whatever Satan tries to throw at you today. Change your mindset and start adding temperance to your life. By saying no to the things of this world, you will have more time to cry out to God for strength for the battle to come and to live a life that is pleasing to HIM.