“… do not bring us into temptation.” (CSB)
For twenty-five years, I have dwelt in and around what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”
I have preached through this powerful instructive wisdom from Jesus phrase by phrase two different times.
We pledged allegiance to the flag in elementary school and immediately followed by saying the Lord’s Prayer together every morning. Every Sunday morning in our church in Chester, Virginia, the pastor would deliver his formal pastoral prayer to God and then lead the congregation to recite the Lord’s Prayer in unison.
By the time I finished seminary, the prayer was more than familiar, even sounding a bit out of tune with preaching in the decades of the seventies and eighties. I just thought it was overused. It was a Psalm beloved by the old generation that was now slowing down the advancement of the Kingdom. I need to deliver fresh new ideas from the pulpit if I was to lead the sleeping congregation into the next great awakening.
I was wrong!
Not only was I wrong, but my theological arrogance also turned my glorious personal Kingdom dreams into a spiritual quagmire. My attitude toward these powerful words of Jesus did not bother God. God took me on a journey by way of a deep dive study into the Lord’s Prayer. I have never been the same. And, I have not discovered an exit ramp to signify that my journey into the depths of this prayer is about to be reached. The more I ponder, the more I feel like I’m still traveling the on-ramp.
But, back to the six words. “And do not bring us into temptation,” that’s the Christian Standard Bible translation. The King James puts it, “Lead us not into temptation.” Either way, on the surface, it sounds like God is involved in tripping me up unless I ask him not to. My current theology cannot hold that assessment with a steady hand.
I pray those words, even though I do not quite understand them. If Jesus said to pray those words, I will pray those words. And I will wait for the answer when he wants me to have a more definitive answer to my question. Just because I do not understand Jesus does not mean that I can wait to get an understanding before I do what he asks.
I have contemplated these six words for three decades. I have also asked every serious disciple of Jesus I have had the opportunity to know what they think the words mean. Thus far, not one has offered a satisfying answer.
Understanding the words of Jesus may be a challenge for me, but I have no problem concluding how I can benefit from this part of the prayer.
The first benefit was the simple act of asking for insight. I have come to relish talking to God about what bothers me. It is how He teaches me.
Second, all the Bible study and contemplation I have done have begun to gel into one mosaic picture of what life with God is about. It’s not the “answer” that will satisfy me. It’s the spiritual and intellectual journey with the Holy Spirit.
My experience has been that God, “Our Father who is in heaven,” likes to keep me just a bit off balance. When my body tells me it is unsteady and losing balance, my natural reaction is to reach out for something firm to hold on to. That something is “Presence.” My understanding of the Bible does not hold me upright; my Father does. Understanding the Bible guides me in learning to recognize and understand my Father in my world.
For now, I have found a deeper application of these words of Jesus by adding to my six words the next seven, “… but deliver us from the evil one.”
Britt Mooney writing on this verse for “Bible Study Tools” helped me the most. He said this is as I pray, I am “… begging God to save us from ourselves and the evil one out to get us.”
Today, my understanding is to pray, “Father, don’t let me damage my relationship with you by my propensity to put my reasoning ahead of your truth, and do not let Satan distract or disturb my rest in you.”
I hope you will begin your pilgrimage through this prayer Jesus gave us. You will not regret the time you give to it. Take the verse apart. Study the words. Meditate on the phrases. Slosh it around in your brain like you do your mouthwash. The inquest will be good for you, and you will likely see the Kingdom coming all around you and even more coming inside you.
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. 10 Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:9-13 CSB)
Photo – It’s that time of year! A maple just off our back deck.
Baldwin Heirlooms 