Wed.’s Devo - Lead us not into Temptation.

Read Luke 11:4b The next thing Jesus taught us to say was “and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” James 1 says that, “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.” The word “lead” means to carry inward because temptation always starts from within. It is the little voice in our head giving us suggestions of how we should think. Mine usually come in accusations about how I messed up because I’m just not good enough or I sinned and deserve it. I try to catch these thoughts and stop them before they make a believer out of me. I have to remind myself that God loves me with all of my failures and the devil hates me because he hates God and I am His. If I don’t stop these thoughts then I am drawn away and robbed of the joy God has for me. If it continues then I will spiral down into a well of self-pity and depression. I consider both of these sin; they contradict the power of God. If I continue down this path it leads to death. To me it is more a death in my personal spirit but to some it can lead to suicide. The cure for me is to read the Psalms and let God’s Word renew my mind. “…But, deliver us from evil.” Another word for deliver is rescue. We are to pray that God rescues us and our family from evil. Evil means anything that is hurtful, or of evil influence, lewd, malicious, wicked, mischievous, brings us guilt, or the devil himself - the evil one. Never doubt the power of prayer. We are probably all the product of someone’s prayer. Prayer moves God’s hand and his heart. Lord, we pray that we comprehend this prayer. We pray that we will not be lead into temptation and that you would deliver us from the evil the devil has planned for us. We choose your plan.