Pray, So That You Will Not Become A Prey. We Are Never Out Of The Devils Reach. All Temptation Stems From 3 Things. Nobody is Temptation Proof; I Do Not Care How Anointed They Are. Jesus Is The Only Person That Has Ever Resisted Temptation & Did Not Sin.
God knows how to deliver His people out of temptation. He will provide you with a way of escape. 2 Peter 2: 9," if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh[c] and despise authority."
We also pray to protect ourselves from the enemy's attack. We pray so that we do not become prey to other people. Let us consider some aspects of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. After the last Supper, Jesus said to Simon, Luke 22 vs. 31, "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.". By the revelation of the Holy Spirit, our Lord knew the plan of the devil for Simon, one of his trusted disciples.
Verse 32 Jesus said, "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fails not; and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Had Jesus not prayed, Simon and all other disciples might have become preys of Satan. That special prayer of Jesus saved Peter.
The desires of the flesh can also make us become prey to our enemy. To avoid this, the Lord Jesus taught us to pray. Luke 22 vs. 40. See what Jesus told his disciples "And when he was at the place, he said unto them, pray that ye enter not into temptation." With this, we know that prayer is an invisible shield of the Lord for us.
Hebrews 4:15, NLT: "This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testing's we do, yet he did not sin."
All Temptations Stem From 3 Things—The Lust Of The Flesh, The Desire Of The Eye, And The Pride Of Life.
1 John 2:16; For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are not of the Father but the world.
Romans 8:8, NLT: "That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God."
Romans 8:12, NLT: "Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do."
Proverbs 1:10. "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." King James Version (KJV)
James 1: 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when dragged away by their evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
In Genesis: 3:6, you see these same three things. We need only to go back to the first sin to see these three underlying facets of sin at work. Genesis 3:6 says, "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." God told Eve that she could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This would keep her from being aware of sin, which would destroy her innocence and ruin her joy. Yet the serpent told her that she would be like God if she ate of the tree, appealing to the pride of life. She saw that the tree was "desirable to make one wise," and she ate. This is the pride of life, a motive wrought in arrogance, boastfulness, and self-centeredness.
Rather than bowing down, trusting, and worshipping God, the pride of life motivates us, as it did Eve, to want to see God in ourselves. Eve also noticed that the tree was "good for food," meaning that it looked like it would taste good and be satisfying and enjoyable to eat. But the pleasures of sin are temporary, and Eve fell for the lust of the flesh, trusting in her sensory modalities rather than in the Word of God spoken to her. The desire of the flesh trusts man's judgment, feelings, and temporary conveniences instead of God's unalterable Word.
Eve also saw that the tree was a "delight to the eyes," for it was a beautiful creation of God. Sin does not necessarily appear ugly, dirty, and destructive, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The fruit that God told Eve not to eat was extraordinarily enticing and attractive. The lust of the eyes propelled Eve down the road of deception until she disobeyed God and incurred the penalties of sin. Both Adam and Eve learned the hard way that the knowledge of evil corrupted their natures resulting in distrust, fear, alienation, pain, and many other hideous things for the rest of their lives. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life all work in sinister collaboration to lead us astray, to keep us from trusting God's Word, and to fall for the schemes of the devil.
The Bible uses the term "flesh" frequently to describe what is left within us that opposes the Spirit of God within our hearts. A battle takes place daily, even Moment by Moment, between the Spirit and the flesh. As Galatians 5:17 says, "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." Any time we give in to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life, we walk by the flesh rather than by the Spirit. As Galatians 5:16 says, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." However, the flesh can also refer to the body (e.g., Matthew 16:17).
In 1 John 2:16, the Holy Spirit chooses to partition our generic fleshly lusts into three distinct categories: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh is the lust of the body. Our bodies have food needs, drink, touch, intimacy, healing, etc. The problem is not that the body has wants and needs but that it can fall prey to lusting for these wants and needs. Lust is differentiated by love in that it is a craving for what is forbidden rather than for what is allowed. Love is a wholesome desire, whereas lust is a perverted one. Lust seeks sex outside of marriage, food in excess, healing through new age practices, etc. Trying to meet the body's desires through the wrong channels is lust, and this is what the devil must trick us into doing.
Satan's methods are similar when it comes to the lust of the eyes. God gave us eyes to see the wonders of His creative genius and to take in information to help us spiritually discern and make decisions. Our ability to see is a good thing that can be used in love and to further the cause of good, but Satan can trip us up if we use our eyes to lust. The world knows how to use lust to market things to us, from ornate presentations in store windows to flashy lights at a casino. Sex sells for a reason. Satan is well-aware of the potent tool that he has in using our eyes against us. Finally, there is the boastful pride of life. Pride and arrogance are behind any sin, whether we are aware of them or not. The temptation to want "to be somebody" or to "do something our way" is all about pride and boasting.
Pride is an arrogant willingness to believe that we do not need God, that we can thwart God, that we can do better than what God has ordained for us, and that we can be a better god of our own lives. Pride may well be the underlying motivator for our choosing to lust, or it could be that our lust leads us to a position of pride. However, sin takes root in our hearts, and we can be sure that pride and lust are the fundamental building blocks.
Satan knows how to break us down, but now we have his playbook. May God make us quick to see the temptations of lust and pride so that we can choose life, freedom, and truth. Sin always brings pain and death (Romans 6:23), but God offers pleasures always (Psalm 16:11). The choice is simple if only we could remember that in the heat of the battle.
Jesus Christ is the magnet who holds us all in place. Vertical forgiveness is what we receive from our gracious God, and horizontal forgiveness is that which we extend to others in His name.
We are never out of the devil's reach; we must always have the whole armor of God to face every day we live. God has already equipped us with the armor. His Word is our shield, sword, helmet, but we must put it on. We must consume His Word daily. This world is a battlefield; therefore, we are walking onto a battlefield in our daily lives, we do not know where the devil is aiming to hit us, so when he targets us, we are ready to use that sword. Throw the Word of God at him, cut him with the Word, and he will flee. Stay busy thinking about the right things; the devil will not be able to fill your mind with wrong things. Jesus Christ Is the Magnet Who Holds Us All in Place. The Vertical Forgiveness Is That Which We Receive from Our Gracious God, and The Horizontal Forgiveness Is That Which We Extend to Others In His Name. Follow Christ, and He will lead you through the hardships of life. Just Follow Him!
When Trouble Multiplies, Grace Magnifies. When we give God all we have in facing our troubles, we will learn where our strength ends and His begins. We may have weaknesses, but God has power. We may have sinned, but God has grace. We may fail, but God remains faithful! We may have been unworthy, unfaithful, unmerciful, unteachable, unwilling, & unwise. If it seems like your troubles are multiplying, know that God's grace abounds. We often hear the cliché, "when it rains, it pours" it appears that everything around us is falling apart all at once. The Moment you are ready to quit is usually the Moment right before the Miracle happens. Do not give up. God's whisper of comfort quiets the noise of our trials. When we know that God's hand is in everything, we can leave everything in God's hand. " My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9.
The Bottom Line to Every Prayer Should be, "Your Will Be Done. "Our prayers often revolve around asking God to hurry up and bless what we want to do. We can pray with David "Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly" (Ps. 5:3 NLT). We can trust His response, even if it does not come in the time we expect. David recognized why he had to wait on the Lord. First, his salvation came from Him (Ps.62:1). He learned that no one else could deliver him. His only hope was in God (v.5), for God alone hears our prayers (v.8). "Not my will Lord, but Your will be done."
There are times when we do not know why some things happened (good or bad). Trusting God in these kinds of times is what faith is all about. Jesus' walk was strenuous, but He kept on; you can keep on too! Your faith must not be an afterthought; it is your most prized possession. Nurture and exercise it with passion! Father helps us to be Christians with a faith that is contagious and courageous. Through all our pain and joy, my God, you were there. You never left us alone. That is why we must dance in the Spirit! Pause and thank God for the countless blessings He has bestowed upon you. Feel that peace? That is God's hand on you. He is the God of wholeness and restoration once you step into Him.
When you have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, you take on the Spirit as the "woman at the well," she was excited; she left her waterpot that was used to draw water and went running to the city to tell the men, probably the men in authority to "Come, see a man who told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?" John 4:28-30. When we have that personal encounter with Jesus, we do not want to walk; we want to run and tell everyone that they need to meet this man, the man that knows everything about us, the man that can restore us and change us. Jesus is the magnet that holds us all together.
1 Peter 5:8, NIV: "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." The great deceiver, often, works under the cover of darkness. As a skilled and experienced hunter, he patiently stalks his prey, invisible to them (invisible is about as camouflaged as one can get!). His night vision is acute, his senses much sharper than ours. He sees us when we do not even know he is there!
Even now, he is stalking us.
Lifted in their pride, he and his demons had the gall to hunt God's throne, but they were soundly routed (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:16-17; Luke 10:18). Now, as our adversaries, they hunt God's people, trying to pick off the weak, the ailing, and those who have grown weary and dropped back from the herd. He is always looking for a way to maneuver us into a position by ourselves where he can leap out of nowhere to maul us. Once he attacks, he causes great pain—but he does not go immediately for the kill. He pins us down and wounds us first. Even while in his grasp, though, we can call out for help. "The LORD is near to all who call upon him, . . . He also hears their cry and saves them" (Psalm 145:18-19, RSV).
Whatever condition you have, circumstances past or present, Jesus can restore you to wholeness. God does not force Himself upon us; we must claim our salvation willingly. Everything comes together when we learn how to spend time with God! Sometimes I must lock the door and get to a place where nothing matters but Jesus and me. Occasionally, we must leave some stuff behind to get to the next level. There is no problem that God cannot solve. There is no place better to be than to be in the "Rest" of God. With God, our load is light! When you stop praying, you cut off the resource to your lifeline with God. You want to stay connected. Satan is on a recruiting mission; his temptations are real but so is God’s escape routes. The devil is searching for his next predator and his next prey.
Pray & Crave God's Word Daily. Do Not Become A Prey For The Enemy. Remember nobody is temptation proof, but God has a way to escape. With God, we can resist temptation. He knows how to deliver His people out of attraction.
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.org
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