Lead Us Not Into Temptation

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." Matt 6:13

This is the final day of unpacking the Lord's Prayer. There are different view points to anything, and I accept the fact that I am not a Bible scholar, however my Bible promises me that the Holy Spirit will guide me into all truth. For those of you who are older than me in the faith, if I have gotten this wrong please instruct me. I only want to know and share the truth, if there are any Paul's out there, I am willing to be your Timothy.

In Matthew chapter 6, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. His response was mind blowing to these Jewish men. He taught them to come to God as their father, and to speak to him as if they knew him in relationship. This was very contrary to the teaching of the religious leaders of the day. According to Jewish tradition, God's name was so holy that it wasn't even to be spoken out loud. So when Jesus said when you pray say "our father," it was hard for most to grasp.

As we went through the prayer, we discovered many other things. We learned the importance of praise, surrender, and supplication. Then we opened up forgiveness, and now we come to the end of what our prayer life should look like, seeking direction.

In our walk with God, one of the most common area's Christians miss God is in the direction they take their lives. What I mean is, we decide what we think we are capable of or what we are good at, then we do it and ask God to bless it. Instead, we should ask our heavenly father where he would have us to go, and what he would have us to do. It ties back into "Your will be done" not only on Earth, but in my life. When God gives us direction, he also gives us the capability to do what he has set out for us.

Father lead us not into temptation.., Deliver us from the Evil one, (according to many translations).

One of the things we need to realize, is that we were never promised comfortable lives as a follower of Jesus. Regardless of what you may have been taught under the "prosperity" movement, the New Testament promises that we will be hated by the world because Jesus was hated by the world. That in our trials and persecutions, we should count it all as joy! Once we get on track with God, there are going to be very real attacks on us. "Deliver us from the Evil one." Where does my protection come from? Jesus reminded us of this and to always keep it in our mind by asking God to protect us as we go about his business.

Then finally, we come full circle. We started our prayer with praise and we end our prayer with praise. "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever!!! Amen!!!"

The joy of being able to worship God, the privilege of having access to his throne of grace. It is awesome!! There is nothing that can compare to his splendor and beauty. If you would like to know more about Jesus, please click on one of the church links on this page. If you need prayer or someone to talk with, contact me directly; rlwhitener@gmail.com Please include "prayer request" in the subject line.

Thanks for following along,
God Bless