Why do we pray, “Lead us not into temptation”? I thought God can’t tempt us.

In the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation” follows immediately after “Forgive us our sins.” Having just prayed for forgiveness, it’s only fitting that we pray for help not to fall again into sin.

Satan is the great tempter. Satan has more power in his little finger than we have in our entire bodies. When we consider that he also has over six thousand years of experience in the tempting business, the challenge of not falling into temptation becomes even more daunting.

God cannot tempt us

We’re not used to saying that God can’t do things. We know God is all-powerful, but there are things God can’t do. The Bible says that God cannot change; that is sometimes called his immutability. If God could change, then he could get better. But God cannot get better because he is already the best, perfect. Another example is that God cannot stop loving us because God is love. His love led him to send Jesus for us. God also cannot tempt us because that would be outside of his nature. James says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13). God cannot tempt us—not in the sense that we are praying about anyway.

The word temptation is actually a neutral word. In the original languages of the Bible, the word literally means “testing.” It’s used in two different ways in Scripture. When the Bible talks about God tempting us, it refers to him testing believers in order to strengthen their faith and root them deeper in the Word. Think of God instructing Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. He was doing that to strengthen Abraham’s faith, not to cause him to sin.

When the Bible speaks about the devil tempting, it’s always to try to lead us into sin. The devil wants to rip us away from God’s Word and promises, ultimately leading us to despair. Listen to his goal for us: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). One of Satan’s titles in Scripture is “tempter” (Matthew 4:3).

God cannot tempt us. Satan is the tempter.

A prayer for strength to overcome temptation

When we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” we are asking that God strengthen us to overcome temptation.

Scripture speaks of the three great sources of temptation: the devil, the world, and our own sin-filled flesh. We are susceptible to all three at all times, but people have noted that we go through stages in life when one is more influential than the others. When we’re young, our sinful flesh is probably most potent with temptations toward evil lusts like sexual sins, drunkenness, greed, and so on. As we get older, the world plays on our desire for power and ambition. Then, the more spiritu-ally mature we get, the more the devil comes in to discard God’s Word the same way he approached Adam and Eve: “Did God really say that?” (cf. Genesis 3:1). Satan tries either to lead us to despair that our sin is too great or to lull us into a false sense of security that since Jesus paid for our sins, we can do anything we want. We need strength to overcome these temptations!

That strength must come from the One who himself overcame temptation. In the desert, Satan attacked with a temptation to mistrust for a starving Jesus, a temptation to doubt for a physically weak Jesus, and a temptation for power for a scorned Jesus. All three times, Jesus overcame Satan with the more powerful Word of God: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ . . . It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ . . . It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’ ” (Matthew 4:4-10). God led Jesus into the desert to be tempted so that he could do in our place what we could never do.

To fight temptation, your great tool is to focus all your attention on Jesus and what he has done for you.

Jesus also helps us with our temptations. The writer to the Hebrews notes about Jesus, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (2:18). And again, “We have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (4:15). That means we can talk to Jesus about our temptations. He knows what we are facing. Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). When we are praying and asking Jesus for help, it’s harder for the devil to trick us.

A promise to fight temptation

Someone once wrote, “The devil doesn’t climb the fence where it’s the highest to get to you. He climbs it where it’s the lowest.” In other words, know your weaknesses and flee from Satan. The apostle Paul said, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! . . . God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:12,13).

Part of the “way out” he provides is for you to use your common sense to avoid situations where you are weak. If you struggle with alcohol, a bar is not the place for you. If you struggle with pornography, a computer in a locked room is not a place for you. If you are greedy, then maybe you are not the one who should control the checkbook when offering time comes around. Playing around with temptation is like trying to run down a mountainside. There comes a time when your legs get away from you and you can no longer stop. God promises, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

A story is told about a man who once asked a king how he might avoid temptation. The king replied, “I’ll answer your question, but first, you must take this jar of oil and carry it through the streets of the city without spilling it. If you spill so much as one drop, you will be killed.” The man took the jar, walked through the city, and, needless to say, was extremely careful not to spill a single drop of oil. When he returned, the king asked, “What did you see in the streets?” “Nothing,” replied the man. “I was thinking only of the oil.” “You’ve just answered your own question,” the king said.

To fight temptation, your great tool is to focus all your attention on Jesus and what he has done for you. See the look in his eyes that says, “I still love you,” even after you fall into temptation. Take a look at the wounds in his hands as he says, “I stretched these out to pay for that sin, and now I stretch them out to welcome you back.” Listen as he sends you on your way, “I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

May all this lead you to pray, “Father, as I go, I need your help. Lead me not into temptation.”

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Author: David Scharf
Volume 111, Number 10
Issue: October 2024