When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He gave them a model prayer. We often refer to it as the “Lord’s Prayer.” Matthew and Luke both record it: Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4. And both record Jesus as teaching them to pray, “And lead us not into temptation.”
Through the years lots of folks, including some in the Roman catholic Church have had a problem with this phrase, “lead us not into temptation.” God wouldn’t lead us into temptation, would He? Pope Francis I went on record to say that the phrase, “lead us not into temptation” is not a good translation. “The one who leads us into temptation,” he says, “is Satan.” So he suggests that it should rather be rendered, “abandon us not when in temptation”.
Well, that is true. Satan does entice and tempt us to sin like he did when he lured Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden–Genesis 3:6. But the Bible also clearly states that God does not lead us into temptation for evil or sinful purposes. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.'” James 1:13
But does God in His sovereign will ever allow His children to be tempted or tested? Yes! He allowed Job to be tested. And After His baptism, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” Matthew 4:1. And Abraham’s faith was put to the test when God told him to offer up his only son Issac as a sacrifice on Mt. Moriah Genesis 22:1-3
But does God tempt or lead us to do evil? No! Jesus is teaching that God would not lead us into temptation. The implication being, that it is not God who tempts us, but rather that He is the one guiding our lives and we are asking Him to lead us away from evil influences that might tempt us to sin. The request to not lead us into temptation is followed by the phrase “but deliver us from evil.”
When Jesus taught His disciples the Model Prayer, He gave them the Prayer as an act of worship and communion with God. Prayer is not so much an act of informing God but for Him to transform and conform us to His will. Therefore, when we pray “forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors,” it is a reminder to us of our need to forgive. When we pray “give us this day our daily bread,” it is a reminder to be content and trust God to meet our needs. And when we pray, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” we remind ourselves of the priority of avoiding temptation to sin and staying on the righteous path where God would lead us. We pray about these things because we need God’s help. We are weak and cannot do them alone.
As for me, I’m going to continue to pray the Lord’s Prayer the way I learned it and the way I have always recited it: “And lead me not into temptation, but deliver Me form evil.”
So, what do you think? Contact me on the comments page and let me know!
