If God doesn't tempt us, why does the Lord's Prayer petition Him to "lead us not into temptation"?
score:12
The phrase is part of a couplet, so it needs to be read in that context.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The phrase does not assume that God might lead us into temptation. Instead, it assumes that God does deliver us from evil. The couplet gives the impression that temptations will come, but prays that God delivers us from them. The New Living Translation attempts to make this more clear:
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
Through other Scriptures, we know that God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13), and we also know that God will always have a way out when temptation comes (1 Corinthians 10:13). A proper systematic theology will look at all the Scriptures that mention a subject to help interpret the more difficult or confusing passages. In this case, other Scriptures make this clear, that God does not tempt and does deliver us from temptation. This is exactly what the prayer asks: when temptation does come (because it will), God save us from it.
Upvote:0
It’s not just the temptation line, Every line in the Lord’s Prayer is a Biblical promise, something that God has declared is true or promised that He will do.
He has told us He is in Heaven, and hallowed. He has promised His kingdom will come, His will will be done, and has promised daily Bread of Life to the regenerate, and to forgive us as we forgive, to deliver us if we call on Him in Christ’s name. etc
Upvote:1
Here's my take:
First, the Greek can mean test or it can mean tempt or it can mean try (trial).
Now, let's look at other scriptures for context:
- Jesus was led by God (Spirit) into the wilderness to be tested/tempted (Mt 4:1). God led him into the trial, where Satan did the tempting.
- God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). But He does test/try us (Asked Abraham to sacrifice his son) (Heb 11:17).
- Jesus tells us to pray to not enter or fall into temptation (Mt 26:41,Luke 22:46)
- We should count it all joy when faced with trials/tests because they develop perseverance (James 1:2)
Putting all this together, here's my conclusion:
If God tests us (but not tempts us), the Lord's prayer is asking...
"lead me not into a place of testing that exposes me to the evil one, but rather deliver me from the evil one". (note this gives the idea of a couplet)
Another source used this comparison: God is a trainer leading us into an arena to fight, and Satan is the opponent. It's OK to ask God not to lead us there. And it's OK to not want to go through severe testing (even Jesus asked to avoid the cross if possible, but accepted God's will (Mark 14:36)).
Finally, it's OK for God to lead me to a place of testing that exposes my sin (which is in me, and provides Satan a foothold). This testing can develop perseverance. I'm supposed to "count it all joy" for this kind of training/testing.
Upvote:2
Cf. ARTICLE 3 THE SEVEN PETITIONS > VI. "AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION" > CCC 2846
CCC 2846 explains that the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation."
CCC 2846 This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation."1 "God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one";2 on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit"; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength.
1 Cf. Mt 26:41.
2 Jas 1:13.
Upvote:4
This may be a simplistic answer, but it came as something of an "aha!" moment to me when I first heard it many years ago:
In general, it is probably not the best idea to ask God to do something God doesn't want to do, or to ask God not to do something God does want to do.
Presumably God's will and God's knowledge of the situation is better than ours. So if we were (theoretically) to succeed in getting God to change God's mind, it would always be for the worse, not for the better.
If, on the other hand, we ask God to do things God already does want to do, and ask God not to do things God already does not want to do, then we're asking things that are in harmony with God's will and God's knowledge, which is better than ours.
So in asking God not to lead us into temptation, which is something God already doesn't want to do, we are praying for something that is according to God's will.
Short version: The purpose of prayer is not to get God to change God's mind. Instead, it is to prompt change in our own mind (and heart) so that we are more in harmony with God's mind (and heart).
A prayer for God not to lead us into temptation is really a request for God to help us not to get ourselves into temptation by thinking, wanting, and doing foolish and evil things.
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