How to Pray-Part 5
Matthew 6:13
Foolish is the Christian who believes he can withstand the devil's attacks alone.
Charles Spurgeon is often quoted for his wisdom on many different topics. Notice his summation of avoiding temptation:
What settings are you in when you fall? Avoid them. What props do you have that support your sin? Eliminate them. What people are you usually with? Avoid them. There are two equally damning lies Satan wants us to believe: 1) Just once won't hurt. 2) Now that you have ruined your life, you are beyond God's use, and might as well enjoy sinning. Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin.
Temptations come to all of us. Being a Christian does not make us immune to sin, nor does it prevent us from failure. The unsaved world would believe Christians are to do no wrong. That is why they point out "hypocrisy" when a Christian falls into sin. Yet we make no claims of perfection after salvation. Instead, we point humbly to our sin nature and thank God that through salvation we do not have to follow sin, but have the option of following God.
Yet despite our best intentions to follow God and our desire to avoid sin, the devil throws temptation at us constantly. Like an enemy of war, he stands ready to attack us at our weakest, with artillery he knows will work, at times he knows we will give in. By ourselves, we are but sitting ducks to the devil's attacks. But through God's protection, we are fortified barricades.
Notice the very last phrase of Jesus' model prayer. As He closes His teaching on prayer, Jesus includes a petition for protection.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Having faced the devil's attacks, Jesus knows the battles believers face. The devil attacked Christ when He was weakest (fasting in the desert) and sought Jesus' failure. If the devil had the bravado to tempt the very Son of God, how much more so will he tempt ordinary Christians like you and I?
Temptation is nothing new in our world. While it is true our world's morals and ethics are declining, the devil's tricks have been present since the beginning of time. Even Eve, who had seen and fellowshipped with God, fell to the devil's temptations.
Foolish is the Christian who believes he can withstand the devil's attacks. Better Christians than us have fallen into the devil's temptations. For that reason, we must be persistent in our daily prayer of protection. Evil surrounds us. Temptation awaits us the minute we awake.
Before you begin each day, take time to beg for God's protection around you. Pray that He would give you strength to withstand temptation and avoid the devil's attacks. Daily praying for God's protection is vital to your faithfulness in a world of temptations.
Take time right now to pray for your protection. Pray that God would set a hedge of protection around you so that the devil's attacks fall short. Never forget that the devil's number one priority is to get you to fall into sin, but through God's protection, you can withstand his attacks.
Daily Bible Reading
2 Kings 4-6 | Luke 24:36-53
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