“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41 NIV
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41
When I come across this verse, I immediately relate it to this verse:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
If a lion is roaming around looking for his next prey, it makes sense that we are told to “watch and pray” to avoid “falling into the trap”.
Falling into temptation is a matter of watching where you step, and not giving into temptation is a matter of keeping your guard up through prayer.
We all have certain weaknesses or vices that are easy for us to fall into. Every temptation we come against has been handcrafted to draw us away from God.
What is most tempting to you probably is different than what is most tempting to me because we all have different “lusts” of this world that entice us.
For everything in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–comes not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:16
All of these “lusts of the world” are not things that we happen across, they are what we are bombarded with everyday.
How do we fight against temptation?
Well in our own strength and ability, these temptations that surround us will always overcome us, but through the power of God inside of us we can withstand these temptations.
In Him,
Stephanie
Photo Credit: image created via wordswag
Christian song artist Mercy Me has written what is, in my opinion, one of the most relevant songs of our day and age. Within the song it says: “God when you choose to leave mountains unmovable, give me the strength to say it is well with my soul. I know You’re able and I know You can, save through the fire with Your mighty hand. But even if You don’t, my hope is You alone. I know the sorrow and I know the hurt would all go away if You just say the word, but even if You don’t, my hope is You alone.”
I didn’t want to remove the splinter. It was glass and had lodged into my foot deeply. After a week of limping, it had to be dealt with but I was not enjoying the prospect of having to cut it out. Many Youtube videos later, having watched the proper procedure, I carefully and slowly cut into the wound according to the instructions I’d researched. Without a bright light to guide me, it would have been impossible to see that little glass splinter shining back at me. The offending object was invisible at first, painful later, and only worsened with time. The first day after I removed the glass shard I was sore, but the next day after some healing I was back to walking again!