ODJ: fighting temptation

February 6, 2016 

READ: Matthew 6:9-13 

Don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one (v.13).

Mimi began working at a brothel in her early 20s. The big money began funding a lavish lifestyle, but working nights meant she lost touch with her friends. Soon things began spiraling out of control.

“I fell pregnant to a client,” Mimi told me. “I realized I couldn’t raise a child in that environment, so I left. I married the father, but he couldn’t forget my past so we broke up. I went from having lots of money each week to having little. All my social connections were gone and I felt isolated. That’s when I started contemplating suicide.”

Instead, Mimi cried out to Jesus. “That was only 6 weeks ago,” she said, “and ever since, the depression has gone.” But with money tight, Mimi was feeling tempted to return to her old life. “If the options are raising my child on instant noodles or getting good money where I was, maybe I’ll go back.”

Mimi’s experience reveals the strategy that the evil one, Satan, uses to trap us. First, he exploits our weakness with an enticing offer, then he isolates us from the people we need, and finally he enslaves us.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). It’s an important request. All of us are vulnerable to distorted desires (James 1:13-15), the destructive ways of the world (1 John 2:15-17), and the evil one who plots our downfall (1 Peter 5:8-9). But when we pray this prayer, we call our Father in heaven who is greater than those powers (Matthew 6:9). He alone can rescue us.

The Lord’s Prayer is to be prayed both for ourselves and for others. So consider praying this: Don’t let Mimi or me yield to temptation, Lord. Rescue us from the evil one!

—Sheridan Voysey

365-day-plan: Exodus 7:1-14

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When are you most vulnerable to temptation? How can God help you prepare for those moments?