How to Pray in Times of Temptation
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· 390 viewsBecause everyone faces temptations in life, can we find help in God's Word concerning how to pray during such times in our lives? Indeed we can. King David was not a stranger to temptation and he taught us much about how to confess our sins after we have given in to temptation. But, he also taught us how to avoid temptation as we go to the Lord in prayer.
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PRAYING IN TIMES OF TEMPTATION
PRAYING IN TIMES OF TEMPTATION
We all face times of temptation in life, no matter our race, our age, our educational level, or our socio-economic status. And, the Bible gives us a great deal of instruction concerning how temptation comes into our lives and how it leads to sin in our lives; and the Bible teaches us how to deal with the temptations we face. In the NT book of James for example, the half brother of Jesus wrote...
James 1:13-15
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
The Bible also gives us examples of people facing temptation. Even our Lord was tempted as he began his earthly ministry.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’ ”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
In the OT, King David faced temptations and in one noteworthy instance, he succumbed. We all remember the story of Bathsheba.
We have also heard how David confessed his sin AFTER the fact (). But, many do not realize that David, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, also composed a psalm () in which he teaches us how to pray for God’s help when facing temptation BEFORE we give in to it.
The setting for this Psalm can be traced to...
1 Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”
1 sam 27.
This is a time in David’s life when he is fleeing from King Saul and it is important to note that the psalm was written early in David’s life, long before he was tempted and committed adultery and murder in his affair with Bathsheba.
While David was specifically facing a physical enemy, what he wrote could be (and should have been) applied to the spiritual enemy he later faced and that we often face in our lives — the spiritual enemy being Satan and the temptation to sin.
I invite you to look with me at . In this psalm, David presents an excellent prayer for anyone who is tempted to make compromises of character and integrity. He implores God to help him hold on, perhaps even to send him others who will support him and hold him accountable. (Word in Life Study Bible, page 1048)
In this passage, we find three prayers we should offer to the Lord when we are facing temptation:
We should pray for separation
We should pray for separation
1 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!
Psalm 141:1-4
1 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
and let me not eat of their delicacies!
In the first four verses, David calls out to the Lord in a sense of desperation. He asks the Lord to “hasten” to him. This implies that David is in a hurry for an answer from God.
When temptation comes, we don’t always have time to think. In fact, sitting down and thinking about the temptation can cause us to actually dwell on it and rationalize our potential disobedience. David wants the Lord to get to him quickly, but Paul puts a little bit different spin on this idea when he wrote to young Timothy in...
22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Listen, we should run FROM the temptation (as Paul says), but we should run TO the Lord (as David indicates). We need to separate ourselves from the temptation and the situations where we will be tempted, but we should get as close to the Lord during those times as we possibly can.
For example, if you are tempted by alcohol, you should never go to a bar. If you are tempted by lust, stay away from pornography, or avoid being alone with a member of the opposite sex.
If you are tempted by something that you cannot avoid for some reason, then find someone who will hold you accountable. Get around people who will get your mind off the temptation and will help you to refocus on the Lord.
In verse 2, David said, “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you. and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”
The Hebrew word translated incense, as you would expect, speaks of the smoke from perfume that rises up toward God. But, one Bible dictionary said that the word means...
“…To get closer, approach; to come forward, draw near....”
Landes, G. M. (2001). Building your Biblical Hebrew vocabulary: learning words by frequency and cognate (Vol. 41, p. 67). Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature.
Hebrew poetry, rather than rhyming, repeats a thought using different words, so David repeats this idea in the last part of verse 2 when he says, “…and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!”
Years ago, when the lifting of hands in worship had become somewhat controversial in Baptist churches (it was beginning to become popular as an expression of worship to the Lord), I read an explanation of that practice in a book entitled, The Hallelujah Factor by Jack Taylor, which gave me a more positive perspective (though I’m still not a “hand-raiser”). In that book Taylor illustrated hand raising in worship by talking about how his grandkids would come running up to him in the airport yelling, “Granddaddy!” With their hands in the air they were communicating, “Pick me up and hold me, Granddaddy!”
Taylor said in the book (something to the effect), “I didn’t say to them, ‘Put your hands down, you little Pentecostals!’ Instead, I picked them up in my arms and hugged them.”
He went on to explain that this is what is being communicated by people who lift their hands in the air during worship. They are, in essence, saying to God, “Pick me up, Lord, and hold me close!”
And, that’s what David is saying in verse 2. When facing temptation, he is (in desperation) crying out to the Lord, “Come near to me, Lord! Hurry! Hold me! I need You right now!”
We usually think of that sense of desperation in times of hurt and struggle, but David says that we should feel that same way when we are facing temptation. It is then that the Lord becomes more precious and we desire His presence (His loving arms) more than we desire the temptation to sin.
In verse 3 David continues his prayer for separation by asking the Lord to “set a guard” over his mouth and to “keep watch” over the “door of [his] lips”; in verse 4 David asks the Lord to separate him from the evil in his heart that leads him to do things he should not do.
A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Psalms Exegetical and Critical
do not allude to idolatrous sacrifices (Rosenm., De Wette), but denote sensual enjoyments and ease, especially of those who had gained their possessions unjustly, Prov. 4:17; 9:5, (Kimchi, Calvin, Geier). Such pleasures have something alluring, Ps. 73:10, (Hengst.), notwithstanding the evil consequences, which should act as a warning, Job 20:12f.; Prov. 23:1 f., 6 f. (Hupfeld). [Ver. 4b is, literally: to work works in wickedness. HENGSTENBERG: “In ver. 3 the Psalmist prays for preservation from the danger of sinning in word, which the temptation brought with it, and in ver. 4 from that of sinning in deed.Ps. 39:1 forms a commentary on ver. 3. The reference is not, as Calvin and others suppose, to hard speeches against his enemies, but to impatient, irreverent expressions against God.”—J. F. M.]
David is asking God to separate him from both words (v. 3) and deeds (v. 4) that are not in keeping with the character and nature of the Lord.
Some of our greatest temptations are in the area of our speech. That’s why Jesus said in...
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
If Jesus were speaking today, He might add, “How can you post or tweet good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the hand types (or the thumbs text).”
People sometimes feel freer to post or tweet comments that are mean and ugly when they might never say those things to a person’s face or even over the phone.
In verse 4, David speaks of the fact that the company we keep impacts the way we live our lives. That’s why it is so important that we surround ourselves with committed followers of Christ (not just nominal Christians, but brothers and sisters in Christ who will encourage us to live godly lives and challenge us when they see us straying from biblical principles in the way we live).
Does that mean we should not be friends with people who are not followers of Christ?
Of course not! How could we win others to Christ if we separate ourselves from them? Jesus put it this way in His prayer in...
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
John 17:14-15
And, listen to the words of Peter in...
27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
And, listen to the words of Peter in...
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
We want to separate ourselves from temptations and the sin around us and draw close to the Lord, while at the same time living in this evil world so that unbelievers can see what Jesus is really like and will be drawn to Him.
David teaches us that our first prayer in the face of temptation should be a prayer for separation.
We should pray for correction
We should pray for correction
5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 141:5–7
David would not resist the rebukes of the righteous—they in fact were like anointing oil, helpful and refreshing
What does David mean in v. 5 when he says, “Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it”?
I believe he is drawing a contrast between being “in company with men who work iniquity” (v. 4) and being in the company of godly friends as he describes here in v. 5. One commentator said...
David would not resist the rebukes of the righteous—they in fact were like anointing oil, helpful and refreshing
Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 893–894). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
King Solomon (David’s son) wrote in the Book of Proverbs...
That’s what
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
31 The ear that listens to life-giving reproof
will dwell among the wise.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
David goes on to say that “their judges” (their leaders) will be “thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.”
Believer’s Bible Commentary Psalm 141: Prayer Counted at Incense
Their judges here probably refers to the ring-leaders of the evil Mafia. When they meet their inevitable doom, the rest of the sinners will realize that David’s words were true after all.
141:7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave, as when one plows and breaks up the earth.
Here the subject seems to shift from the enemies of Israel to the Jewish people themselves. Their persecutions have been as thorough as the plowing of a field. Now it is as if nothing is left but their skeletons, and Sheol waits with open mouth to devour the bones. This makes us think of Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones, referring, of course, to Israel (Ezek. 37:1–14).
Overall, in verses 5-7 David is teaching us that it is not enough to separate ourselves from temptation and sin, but we need to be open to the correction of the Lord (sometimes through the encouragement and challenge/confrontation of our brothers and sisters in Christ). We need to desire not only God’s presence in our lives, but we should also desire His continued pruning (disciplining) as He gets out of our lives anything that doesn’t look like Jesus.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
As we face temptations in life, we should pray for separation and correction. Number 3...
We should pray for protection
We should pray for protection
8 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.
David says almost the same thing as the writer of Hebrews that we just read: 1) David said, “But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord…”; 2) the writer of Hebrews said, “…looking to Jesus....”
David then said in verses 8 and 9, “…in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!”
This is very similar to Paul’s words in...
13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
We can ask the Lord to protect us. Not that He will remove the temptation, but that He will provide us with the tools to resist temptations when they come.
What are some of the tools God gives us in order to help us resist temptation?
ANSWERS:
His Word
Fellow believers (church/worship involvement, accountability partners/groups, Christian authors through their books and articles, pastors/preachers through recordings/podcasts, Christian musicians through their songs, etc.)
Ministry opportunities (that keep us busy and focused on His work instead of being idle)
Prayer (drawing close to Him in an intimate setting)