The Lord's Prayer - The Sixth Petition:
Save us from the time of trial.
What is this? or What does this mean?
It is true that God tempts no one, but we ask in this prayer that God would preserve and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great and shameful sins, and that, although we may be attacked by them, we may finally prevail and gain the victory.
To Ponder:
Deny me those gratifying invitations, those highly interesting contacts, that participation in the brilliant movements of our age, which I so often, at such risk, desire.
- C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms
Prayerful Resistance:
Years ago I was a trial attorney. AS a public defender I prosecuted folks whose actions had injured others. It was not an easy task. Many folks had unwittingly fallen into a trap of misguidance and misdirection. They failed to think seriously about the consequences their actions would have on others or themselves. They had been tempted by lies of quick and easy money or self-gratification. They had been entrapped by their own schemes and drawn deeper and deeper into illegal activity.
C.S. Lewis reminds us how easy it is for all of us to be misled by others, misdirected by our own self-centeredness, and deceived by temptations that appear to be innocent. In the Lord's Prayer we entrust ourselves to God's care and keeping, knowing that Christ has already defeated temptation and sin.
Prayer:
Help me not to be deceived, O Lord, during times of trial. Amen.
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