“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”

If that line wasn’t in The Lord’s Prayer, would you ever think about praying it? I mean, do we really think about praying to avoid temptation? We know, of course, that God does not “lead” us into places of temptation. He doesn’t have to; we do that well enough on our own! What He does is “allow” us free will.

Jesus told Peter, James, and John, to “watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation”, but what did they do? They immediately fell asleep. He tells us also to “watch and pray” but what do we do? We rush headlong like gangbusters into situations where we have no business being - and then pray “Oh Lord, deliver us!”

I probably haven’t specifically prayed “deliver me from temptation…” but what I have prayed (and pray many times) is “Lord, protect me from my own stupidity; protect me from my own foolishness…”

Many years ago, when I was young and foolish (you can roll your eyes here) I decided to bypass the crossbars on a railroad track and cross anyway. Just as my car hit the bump of the tracks, it died - and a train was coming. I cranked a couple of times, to no avail, then thought, “I’m going to try one more time, then get out and RUN!” and I prayed, “Lord, please let it start. I’ll never do this again!”

It started and I got out of the way in, what felt like “just the nick of time”, (in reality, I probably had plenty of time.) Anyway, a very foolish act that I had gotten myself in could have been disastrous, but God heard my cry and delivered me. And I’ve never done that again.

But the point is, I knew better, and did it anyway. What do we “know better” but do anyway? Is that “temptation” or “foolishness” or just plain selfishness?

Good Lord, deliver us…


Betty