SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/7/2020 11:59 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “The Protection of Prayer”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
6:13-14
Message of the verses: “13 And do not lead
us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom
and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 “For if you forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
We
continue quoting from MacArthur’s book “Jesus’ Pattern of Prayer” as we begin to look at how Satan tempts us.
“How
does Satan tempt us? Through the lust of
the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Those do not proceed from the Father. God’s desire is that we watch and pray and do
not enter inter into temptation.
“The
word temptation is from the Greek peirasmos,
which is used over and over in the Scripture.
It is simply a test, or a trial.
The English word means ‘seduction to evil,’ but the Greek word is
neutral, sometimes translated ‘test,’ and sometimes ‘prove,’ sometimes ‘trial,’
and sometimes ‘temptation.’
“In
the Disciples’ Prayer the word should be translated ‘trial.’ So, ‘Lead us not into trials, or testings.’
“Any
time there is a legitimate trial, or test, there is the possibility of passing
or failing. So when God brings a trial,
there is always the possibility that the trial can be turned into a temptation.
“Joseph
said in Genesis 50:20, regarding his brothers’ selling him into Egypt, ‘You
meant if for evil, but God meant it for good.’
“When
the prayer says, ‘Lead us not into trials,’ I believe the implication is,
‘Lord, don’t lead us into a trial that will present to us a temptation such
that we will not be able to resist it.’
“You
walk along and you encounter a certain person or situation, a certain,
magazine, a certain book, a certain movie theater, a certain program on
television—those are all tests. They can
show your spiritual strength and cause you to grow, or you can fail and the
experiences can turn into temptations that incite your lusts and draw you into
sin.
“The
petition in question is a safeguard against presumption and against a false
sense of security. When you think you
stand, take heed lest you fall.
“The
word ‘into’ is eis in the Greek, and
some have compared it to the Hebrew liyadh,
which means ‘into the power of’ or ‘into the hands of.’ In other words, we are praying, ‘Do not cause
us to be led into the hands of the trial.’
“Our
Lord prayed the same prayer in John 17:15 when He said to the Father, ‘I pray
not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep
them from the evil [one].
“Martin
Luther said, ‘We cannot help being exposed to the assaults, but we pray that we
may not fall and perish under time.’
“When
trials come, Satan wants to make us angry and bitter. How do we deal with them? James 4:7 gives us the simple word. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God.’ How do we do that?
“We
get under His lordship. That means we’re
going to do what He says. We’re going to
live in submission to biblical principles.
Submitting to God is not some esoteric (mysterious) thing. It is not intellectual suicide or escapism
(diversion). Submitting to God is
ordering one’s life to respond in accord with the biblical revelation of God’s
will.”
12/7/2020 12:25 PM
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