January Series Study Guide - Day 15
Read Matthew 6:9-15
Jesus taught us to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” If we are honest it is a strange way to pray at first glance because God says in James 1:13 that He does not ever tempt anyone. So why would we pray for God to do something He already said He would never do? Actually the answer surrounds the word “temptation”. The Greek word used here is “peirasmon” and it is full of meaning. It can mean a temptation or trap for evil or a test and trial that can produce good things. There is actually a chapter in the Bible that uses the same word in both ways (James 1). Trials are something we are to count joy when we face because they produce good things while temptation is something to be recognized and avoided so it does not end up producing death.
When I pray this way I am saying that I fully expect that I will face trials. I might pray this with my eyes closed but I will live with my eyes wide opened. Tests and trials should not surprise us.. There are other parts of the Bible where we are told not to be surprised when we are facing trials (James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 4:12). The Bible teaches us that tests are inevitable, I cannot opt out. My tests are unpredictable; I cannot schedule them (no day is a good day for a trial right?). Also my tests are assorted. Tests and trials come in all different forms and my tests are not the same as your tests. So when we pray this way in a sense we are praying with eyes wide opened to the fact that we will face tests but that is not all.
When we pray this way we are saying that I do not want my tests to trap me, instead I want them to train me. Satan will take a good test and make it a trap. God wants to develop faith in my test and Satan wants to destroy faith. God wants to develop character in my test and Satan would love for me to compromise character in this test! The only way for me to get through this test is to run to God.
After Jesus said, “Lead us not into temptation…” He followed it up with, “…and deliver us from the evil one.” This is fascinating and revolutionary because it recognizes that it is my sin that I need delivered from not my pain. WOW! Truth be known much of my praying is for God to deliver me from my pain, from my inconvenient circumstance, and my unpleasant situation. Jesus teaches us instead to pray for God to deliver us from evil or giving in to the evil way under the pressure of the pain I might be feeling. Pain is not the enemy, sin is. I think that is what Jesus wants us to see here!
Finally as Jesus teaches us to pray this way I think it is important to remember the context of our praying. We are literally sitting around our Father’s table. Prayer is processing my tests and my trials with my Father who loves me. Sometimes when we go through testing we can get mad and think I don’t deserve this, yet around the Father’s table we realize we have far more than we could ever have deserved.
Q: How can we count it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds?
Q: What is the biggest test you are walking through right now? What can you see God producing in this test? How do you think Satan might be able to trap you in this test? How do you think being aware of this will change the way you pray?
Q: How do you think times of trial can help you know IT (Jesus and the power of the gospel)?
Q: How do trials help us live IT (like Jesus transformed by the power of the gospel)?
Q: How can painful testing create opportunity to give IT (the story of Jesus in the gospel) away?