That Ye Be Not Tempted

I am a fallen man. I am an imperfect parent. The temper I had as a kid, that lay dormant during years of relatively low stress, will sometimes manifest itself under the pressure and emotions that come parenting strong-willed, tired, preschoolers.

I need the influence of the Holy Ghost. I truly depend on the spirit and on Christ. I see how very incapable I am, how fallen I really am, and really, what a sinner I am. I want His influence in my life, but too often I make choices the reduce the influence of the Spirit in my life, and I am left exposed to the tendencies of my natural man.

The scriptures* teach us to pray to be protected against temptation and promise us that we will not be tempted beyond our ability to choose righteousness. I see a number of blessings from praying for protection against temptation:

1. By praying against temptation, I consciously recognize that temptation is real. As a result, I am on guard, and have an increased capacity to see temptations for what they are.
2. As I pray for strength against temptation, I concede that I am weak and I am unable to overcome the natural man on my own. Divine help and companionship of the spirit is essential to helping me make choices to overcome the tendencies of the natural man.
3. After I've prayed for protection against temptation, I can go forward with faith and confidence knowing that the Lord will assist me. When I recognize temptation for what it is, I know that the Lord has promised me that he wouldn't allow any temptation to come my way that was impossible for me to overcome.

I'm still building the habit of daily praying for protection against temptation, but when I do, I feel a tangible strength helping me recognize and overcome tendencies toward anger or frustration. The confidence, or hope really, builds on itself and engenders greater faith and hope as I am delivered from temptation.


*Many scriptures invite us to pray for protection from temptation
Alma 13:28 - "But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;"
Matthew 6:13 - "And suffer us not to be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil"
1 Cor 10:13 - "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it."

p.s. - Back toward the beginning of the year, I spent a couple weeks writing an essay/talk exploring these ideas and feelings. Much of the above is from those reflections. See it here.