Avoiding and Overcoming Temptation
On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
Luke 22:40
We can avoid temptation by using Godly wisdom and by prayer. Use Godly wisdom to stay away from people, places, and things that you know will be temptations, even though you may tell yourself that you can overcome the temptation. Temptation can also be overcome through prayer by asking God to remove the sinful desire when you are tempted and to replace it with the desire to stand strong in Christ.
In the above verse, Jesus tells his disciples to pray so that they will not fall into temptation. When we pray not to fall into temptation, then the thing that tempts us may no longer have any power over us. The Lord’s power is with us and he goes before us, destroying the power of Satan’s temptations. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Pray to avoid temptation with a heart that desires to endure and overcome, and the Lord will provide his enduring power to be victorious.
Avoiding temptation takes awareness of our thoughts and the places we go. Our thoughts can lead us to the wrong people and places, leading us into temptation. If we capture the thought we can overcome the desire and the false confidence we may have concerning the temptation. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5). If we train ourselves to capture our thoughts we can experience victory in avoiding temptation and victory in overcoming temptation. The thought of victory can become more powerful than the temptation. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 5:17). We celebrate when we have victory in Christ over Satan and his evil ways. We achieve contentment, peace, and joy with every victory and we feel closer to the Lord.
Pray to avoid and to overcome temptations, and to experience victory in Christ. Be aware of your thoughts, the people you spend time with, and the places you go, so you can avoid temptations. Many times we can avoid a temptation, thereby eliminating the need to overcome the temptation.
Today be aware of any sinful, tempting thoughts, because capturing the thoughts can help you avoid temptations. Know that Satan is smiling when you yield to temptation because his desire is to reel you into eternal death in his evil kingdom. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Know that you have the power of God in you to overcome any temptation Satan can place in your path.
Let’s Pray: Lord, help me to capture every thought, and to have victory in Christ with every temptation. Help me to hate sin and to overcome the world and its evil ways. Fill my heart with your love, peace, and joy, because they give me power to overcome. In Jesus name, Amen