The goal of a disciple of the Lord Jesus is a close walk with God. This walk is led by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14) and is the privilege of our being sons of God. We are to learn how to discern the guidance given by the Holy Spirit and respond in trust and obedience.

No wonder therefore that we need to be sure that we will not be led into the temptation of the evil one or fall into his evil hands in any way. How important it is that we can walk with God, secure in the understanding that we will be safe from our spiritual enemy, totally protected?

Avoiding the Enemy’s Lies

Having said that, we might wonder why we should ever think otherwise. Human logic might convince us that God could lead us into temptation, possibly to test us and strengthen us. In being given these words as a part of the Lord’s prayer, however, our answer is that it is not God’s way to lead us thus. If we are tempted, it is satan who is at work. He will certainly play on any weakness of the flesh, but we can be confident that this is not where God led us. God may well test us, but He does not tempt us – there is a difference!

This is why, in Philippians 4:8, Paul urges us to think only on things which are good.

Perhaps some of us have behaved differently from this, taking satan on in ways that we were not led by the Holy Spirit to do. So let us take the opportunity this week to put this matter right before God. After all, if we have been fed lies by satan, who may have drawn us away from the path of the Spirit of God, it is vital to get out of that web. Remember that satan is very cunning, working through lies, playing on immaturity and misinterpreting Scripture.

Overcoming Temptation

Yet, there is another point to consider. When the Lord Jesus included this section of the prayer, could He have been recalling the time when, following His baptism, the Spirit of God led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt 4:1)? We see from this incident just how cunning satan was – the same satan who cunningly tempted Adam and Eve.

Frankly, if we had been there instead of Jesus, we may well have been deceived by satan’s clever twisting of Scripture. This is the sort of temptation that Jesus does not want us to endure. The victory of Jesus over satan began in the wilderness and was completed on the Cross. Therefore, we need not go through this sort of temptation now that the victory is secure.

How gracious of the Lord to give us this prayer that, if prayed in faith, ensures that we can walk securely with him on account of this great disarming of satan.

Author: Dr Clifford Denton