I need thee every hour,
stay thou near by;
temptations lose their power
when thou art nigh.
Second stanza of the hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour” by Annie S. Hawks
These words glimpsed in my mind as I came to understand what Christ meant in teaching His disciples to say, “And lead us not into temptation” when praying. (Matt 6:13)
Is it not incredible that Jesus did not leave us to guess on how we should pray? On the contrary, we have a model for prayer. Jesus said, “After this manner therefore pray ye:” Matt 6:9. The Lord’s prayer was twice given by our Savior; first to the multitude in the Sermon on the Mount, and again to His disciples alone. (Matt 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).
As we get to see what is meant by the words “lead us not into temptation”, it is important to note that Christ taught the disciples “to say” when they pray (Luke 11:2). Many of us are fond of praying silently when in our closets instead of exercising what our Saviour taught us. Christ was praying aloud when the disciples found Him absorbed in communion with God. Praying aloud helps to keep our minds from wandering when we pray and also helps us realize that we do pray to a real and living God thereby building our relationship with Him in prayer.
Jesus, therefore, taught us to pray aloud to the Father, “Our Father which art in heaven,” (Luke 11:2). It goes without saying that the words, “And lead us not into temptation” are directed to God, the Father. The two phrases “lead us” and “not into temptation” are key. The word “lead” is also translated as “bring”. Both words connotate a process or a way. In normal instances, the word lead is used concurrently with “way”. The psalmist writes,
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. KJV — Psalm 139:23,24
For one to ask God not to bring them into temptation is proof that they must have surrendered the steering wheel to God to lead the way. It means giving oneself up to the guidance of God to lead. We, therefore, cannot offer this prayer in sincerity and yet decide to walk in any way of our choosing. Instead, we shall wait for the Lord to lead us “in the way everlasting”. We shall listen to his voice saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” Is 30:21.
Lead us not into temptation is in itself a promise we are to claim. We commit ourselves to God. If we choose to do so, we have the assurance in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”. We will consider this passage again as we examine the second phrase.
“And lead us not into temptation”, does God tempt people? If not, why ask Him not to lead us into temptation? Or could it be that the text is wrong in its translation as suggested by some, perhaps the most famous by Pope Francis *, who took issue with this phrase? How readest thou this part?
In James 1:13, we read, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”. The next verse shows what tempts us, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”. Considering those two verses, how then do we resolve passages such as Genesis 22:1 and Matthew 4:1?
The answer to all these questions lies in the understanding of Matthew 6:13. As we have seen heretofore, temptation is an enticement to sin and that does not proceed from God (James 1:13) but from Satan (Matt 4:1) and from the evil of our own heart (James 1:14). Therefore, it is in harmony with Scripture to say, God does not tempt us.
From James 1:2 we read, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;”. This shows that we do fall into temptation. Therefore, God does not prevent us from temptation. If at all He does, He sure would not have let Adam and Eve fall into temptation. This is distinct evidence of man’s free will which is his to exercise. So if God does not tempt us, and He does not prevent us from falling into temptation, what does He do?
Let us look at 1 Corinthians 10:13 once again. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer (permit or allow) you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”. That is what God does. But why would a God of love permit temptation to come to us?
The answer to that question is in the third and fourth verse of the first chapter of James. “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”. I love how the Bible is its own expositor. The word “temptation” in verse two is defined by the phrase “trying of your faith” in verse three. Actually, the word translated “temptation” means “to prove, test or try”, the same word implied in Genesis 22:1 and Matthew 4:1.
God was basically testing/trying/proving the faith of Abraham as plainly as He spoke to Moses in the wilderness saying, “that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no” Exo 16:4. From James 1:3,4, God in His great love is seeking to develop in us the precious graces of His Spirit. Not in freedom from trial, but in the midst of it, is Christian character developed.
“Lead us not into temptation” is, therefore, praying that God will not permit us to be brought where we shall be drawn away by the desires of our own evil hearts. It is, as a result, important for us to claim with the Psalmist, “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Ps 40:8. This is what marked the prayers of Christ. He surrendered all to the Father. In the garden, He prayed, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Luke 22:42.
If we commit ourselves to God, to delight to do His will, we will be assured of protection from Satan’s power and the promise in 1 Cor 10:13 will be ours. The devil will by no means find access to us as he desired to Peter (Luke 22:31,32). It was at this point that I remembered the words in stanza 2 of the song:
I need thee every hour,
stay thou near by;
temptations lose their power
when thou art nigh.
For one to confess “I need thee every hour”, they must have seen their helpless state. I wonder if you see your need today? If you meditate on these words you definitely will see your need which is day by day, each hour.
I want you to know that the only safeguard against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. We need Him every hour especially because the everlasting gospel commands us to fear God and to worship Him, giving glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come (Rev 14:6,7).
For Christ to stay nearby we ought to first draw near to Him (James 4:8). As the Spirit glorifies Christ, our hearts are first softened and subdued, the temptations lose their power and the grace of Christ transforms the character. Christ will hold us firmly by a hand that will never let go.
I want to live in contact with the living Christ, to know and believe the love God has to me, daily surrendering to His will and hence claim the promise, “lead us not into temptation”. Will you?
No man is safe for a day or an hour without prayer. Especially should we entreat the Lord for wisdom to understand His word. Here are revealed the wiles of the tempter and the means by which he may be successfully resisted. Satan is an expert in quoting Scripture, placing his own interpretation upon passages, by which he hopes to cause us to stumble. We should study the Bible with humility of heart, never losing sight of our dependence upon God. While we must constantly guard against the devices of Satan, we should pray in faith continually: “Lead us not into temptation.” The Great Controversy by Ellen White, pg.530 par.2
* Pope Francis Suggests Changing The Words To The ‘Lord’s Prayer’
The Sin Problem