February 9, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil [or, the evil one]." — Luke 11:4 · KJV

What we are taught to seek or shun in prayer, we should equally pursue or avoid in action. Very earnestly, then, we should avoid temptation, seeking to walk so carefully in the path of obedience that we never tempt the devil to tempt us. We are not to enter the thicket in search of the lion; we might pay dearly for such presumption. This lion may cross our path or spring on us from the thicket, but we have no business hunting him. Whoever meets him, even if he wins the day, will find it a hard struggle; let the Christian pray to be spared the encounter. Our Savior, who knew what temptation meant, earnestly warned His disciples, "Pray that ye enter not into temptation." Yet, do what we will, we shall be tempted; hence the prayer, "deliver us from evil." God had one Son without sin, but He has no son without temptation. The natural man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward, and the Christian is born to temptation just as surely. We must always be on watch against Satan, because, like a thief, he gives no warning of his approach. Believers who have known his ways understand that there are certain seasons when he is most likely to attack, just as certain seasons bring bleak winds; so the Christian is doubly guarded by his fear of danger, and the danger is turned aside by preparing to meet it. Prevention is better than cure: better to be so well armed that the devil will not attack you than to endure the perils of the fight, even though you come off a conqueror. Pray this evening, first that you may not be tempted, and next that if temptation is permitted, you may be delivered from the evil one.