Over my last several posts we’ve taken a journey through what it means to lead through prayer, using the Lord’s Prayer to guide us. From Jesus’ words we’ve discovered how not to pray, how prayer is relational rather than transactional, what it means to pray the bravest prayer, how to pray dependently, regularly, and specifically, and how to use pray to handle the pain of leadership. Today, I want to conclude this series with the final verse in the Lord’s Prayer.
“And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)
Some of the common temptations in leadership are pride, greed, the abuse of power, and the advancement of self-serving agendas (just to name a few). The trouble with temptation in leadership is that the collateral damage is usually wider when a leader falls to sin. Others get hurt…many others in some cases.
As hard as we try to overcome temptation, the truth is we can’t do it alone. The good news is, we don’t have to. Pastor Ed Litton observed, “God is not an absentee landlord. He is Lord, and He is on that field with me in my struggle.”
In his first letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul gave us the secret to overcoming temptation. He said:
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Most of us want a quick fix to temptation. We want a once and done solution to the temptations that taunt us. Unfortunately, it usually doesn’t work that way, which is why each day in prayer, we need to ask God for two things.
1. Show Me the Way Out
Temptation doesn’t come from God. James 1:13-15 says, “And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, ‘God is tempting me.’ God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”
God is the one who provides a way out of the temptation that yearns to entice us. Our prayer each day should be, “God, show me the way out.” Sometimes we don’t see it because we don’t want to see it.
2. Give Me the Strength to Take It
The second half of your prayer each morning should be, “God, show me the way out when I’m tempted, and give me the strength to take it.” It’s ultimately your choice, but God empowers us with His Spirit to do the right thing. The key is to act quickly. The longer you linger in the garden of sin, the more likely you are to have a picnic in it. Look for the path out and then take it quickly.
How would your life look different if this became your pattern? What sin would you avoid? What heartache would you never encounter? And what pain would the people you lead never suffer because you exited the highway of reckless behavior?
One day you would tell a different story because you chose the path of least regret. Prayer makes that possible. Each day pray, “And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
