Lead us not into temptation…we can get there on our own.
Lord’s Prayer rock, detail (Photo credit: jessamyn)
I recently blogged about the impact of the line from The Lord’s Prayer, ’Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ Read here. I blogged about how we say it loosely and never really think of how it is applied in our lives. Another such line that I think is bloggable is the line ‘Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil’.
In The Lord’s Prayer, we are asking God not to lead us into temptation but since we go there all on our own, this makes me wonder if we are actually saying, Lord, you don’t have to come with me as I go down the road of temptation. You stay back here while I dabble for a bit. Hey, but be sure to stay in the getaway car so you could deliver me from the evil that I encounter.
So if we pray to God not to lead us into temptation, who is responsible for leading us into the daily temptations we allow ourselves to succumb to? Not HIM because I doubt he finds any delight in taking his children by the hands and leading them into any form of temptation. He was mad when Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be tempted in the garden so that would confirm this. Hmm….so maybe we are the culprit. We wade into temptation all on our own, sometimes a bit too happily. Maybe we just don’t want him around to see us enjoying the evil fruit but we sure want him around to forgive us after, right?
Lord, deliver us from the evils that tempt us.
Related articles
- And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us… (myvuze.wordpress.com)
- Do you Mean it? (phillipbrande.wordpress.com)
- Jesus’ Temptation & Our Own (pastorreeder.wordpress.com)
- “Teach Us How to…Live”, An Early Church Fathers Take on “The Lord’s Prayer III (notforitchingears.com)
- I can’t say the Lord’s Prayer (bbressman.wordpress.com)
- The Lord’s Prayer – An Adaptation (godspace.wordpress.com)
