“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:9-13
In John 10:10, Yeshua told us that the thief, the devil, comes to steal and kill and destroy, whereas He, Yeshua, came to give us life, and to have it, as one translation puts it, in abundance, to the full, till it overflows. In fact, Yehovah sent Yeshua to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), equipping Him with the Ruach Hakodesh to empower Him to fulfil that calling, so that He could redeem us back to Himself. In that same way, Yeshua commanded His disciples to go into the world with the same purpose, vision and mission the Father had sent Him (John 20:21-22). They were to ‘tarry’ in Jerusalem till they received the manifested power of the Ruach, before moving out to fulfil that calling on their lives. (Luke 24:49 & Acts 1:8). So, we understand that the devil’s intention is to steal from, kill and destroy us. He does this by trying to steal away the Word of Yehovah spoken into our hearts and lives. He brings persecution and temptations to draw us away from Yehovah, our one true source of hope and strength. Because he has no power over Yehovah, he has no power against the Word of Yehovah, nor us – when we stand upon it. Instead, he brings afflictions and problems to rob us of the Word that is in us. He knows if he can steal Yehovah’s Word out of us, take away the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17), from our hands and hearts, we will be powerless. He is trying to destroy our faith, which is founded and built upon Yehovah’s Word, to make us defensive, inactive and impotent. It is not Yehovah Who sends temptation. There are enough trials and problems in life that the devil throws at us, without us getting the idea that our heavenly Father is sending them too. (See James 1:3). It is wise for us to remember though, that, “…every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust (desires) and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15). Conversely, in 2 Timothy 2:22, Paul counselled Timothy to “Flee… youthful lusts.” We can do that, knowing that we are promised that no temptation will come against us from which He will not make a way of escape, empowering us with the indwelling Ruach Hakodesh, to overcome any and all temptations by calling upon and relying on His strength to be able to endure and escape.