And lead us not into temptation,

[rudy2]

I am having trouble understanding this verse. Part of the Lords prayer.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matt 6:13
Why would God ever lead us into temptation, I would think never, but according to this we are to ask for Him not to.
Any thoughts out there?

[HarbingerSinger]

My first impulse is usually to interpret "temptation" in the sense of some object that is tempting or enticing, such as the earthly kingdom that Satan offered to Jesus. There is another interpretation that has the sense of the act of tempting or the condition of being tempted. In this sense, Satan's temptation of Jesus was the whole process of subjecting Jesus to a test or trial to see if he would succumb.

The Bible sometimes uses "temptation" in that sense of "trial" or "test", and indeed there is a version of the Lord's Prayer that has "save us from the time of trial" in place of "lead us not into temptation".

I once read a commentary on the Lord's Prayer that pointed out some things that relate to the end times. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" foreshadows the Millenial Kingdom, while "save us from the time of trial" could be a reference to the Rapture saving believers from the Great Tribulation set forth in Revelation.

Yet the version that uses "temptation" says "and lead us not into temptation". There may be some nuances in the meaning of "lead" here that I'll have to leave to other commentators because it's getting very late and my eyelids are getting too heavy for me to take the time to do that research. One thing I did think of immediately, though, was this passage from 2 Thessalonians:

2:6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 2:7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 2:8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 2:9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 2:10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2:11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 2:12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

God will not only leave those who do not have true belief behind (i.e. lead them into the trials and tribulations), he will send a delusion to separate them from Him even farther if they don't realize what happened, acquire belief, and hang on to that belief despite the physical sufferings and the exceedingly clever lies from Satan's side.

So one way I look at "lead us not into temptation" is "help us keep our faith alive."

("P.S. So that we may meet Jesus in the air if the timing works out.") :rapture

[HarbingerSinger]

Also, sometimes God does allow people to be put to tests or trials, for instance Job. In a couple of different threads I've seen a list of about five reasons why God would cause people to endure trials but I can't stay awake any longer to do the research.

[carmen]

Temptation doesn't come from God nor does God tempt anyone (James 1:13-14). Temptation comes from within ourselves. As James puts it in verses 14-15:14 ...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. However, God may very well lead us into situations where we are tested by bing tempted. Jesus was led into the desert to be tempted by satan, but withstood the test.

God uses these times of testing for several reasons, including developing character and showing us our areas of weakness and need. Still, I have prayed to be kept from it and IMHO, this is part of what the prayer is getting at :):

[Amazedgrace56]

I am having trouble understanding this verse. Part of the Lords prayer.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matt 6:13
Why would God ever lead us into temptation, I would think never, but according to this we are to ask for Him not to.
Any thoughts out there?

Someone shared this with me when we did a study on the Lord's Prayer..

I was really shocked when they said ..that ONLY once but "ONCE" in the bible God did in fact lead someone into temptation..but the identity of who this was explains it all!:thumb..had me going there for a moment until I got it..

The Apostle James says you should not accuse God of tempting you because: “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (James 1:13).

Satan is the author of evil.

The reason the devil’s temptations work so well is because they connect with desires you have deep inside. “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin” (James 1:14-15).

Interestingly, there is one time in the Bible where it seems that God led someone into temptation. “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). God led Jesus into the desert but it was the devil who tempted Him. And God knew that the devil would not succeed! This passage shows that the devil is real. The devil wants to lead people into sin. He wanted to tempt Jesus most of all.

The Holy Spirit wanted Jesus to trade places with you.

Jesus faced every temptation and hurt and disappointment you face. For all the times you have failed by giving in to temptation, Jesus succeeded. He succeeded as your substitute. When you believe that, God counts Jesus’ success as though it were yours.:clap

Pretty awesome when you put it in this perspective huh?

[carmen]

God still didn't lead anyone into being tempted, in the sense of the James passage :):. The temptation to do wrong goes to what's inside us, if you look at the James verses. It says, "...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed."

I think most of us would agree that Jesus didn't have any evil desires by which He could be dragged away and enticed :):

[blitzkreig]

:doh

You are getting tripped up on 17th century English.

Here ... a contemporary translation:

Mat 6:13 Keep us from being tempted and protect us from evil. By the way the name of the prayer should be the "Apostles Prayer"...

The Lord didn't pray that he taught the Apostles to pray it ...

[joy4Him2day]

Trials and temptations not necessarily being the same thing? I think we need to be tested---to see what we are made of, to see what He is........but temptation with the thought of "leading away" is not brought by God, but the responsibility of the believer to resist.......? (thinking aloud)
a believer can be "tempted" in a trial.....but is a temptation considered a "trial?" :noidea

*some witnesses add: For Thine is the Kingdom and the glory and the power forever. Amen. New English Bible

*Other authorities, some ancient , add, in some form, ForThine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen. Revised Standard Version.

interesting......
James implies that temptations come because of our own exposure to them, and that scripture warns over and over to "flee" from them when they come.......
perhaps the "understanding" should be, "Thou lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.......".....it would be sound scripturally.....as if to say, You won't lead us into temptation, but on the contrary, will deliver us from the evil one.......

that's how I see it......
:):

[blitzkreig]

What is often (always?) overlooked is the fact that the prayer is not a prayer one in this dispensation would pray. It is one which those in Jesus earthly Kingdom ministry or after this dispensation is complete and we are Raptured out of here ... those who become believers during the Tribulation period would pray. For the Kingdom. This is the prayer that will be made by all Israel in her time of great need.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. This is self explanatory ... This is for the Kingdom to come. The Lord to return and establish His Reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem Give us day by day our daily bread. Those awaiting the Kingdom in the Tribulation will be miraculously supplied ... as those who were in the dessert of the Old Testament as in "manna from heaven". And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. the reciprocal "forgive as we forgive others" ... we who are in Christ are already 100% forgiven for all of our sins past, present, and future ... no need to ask ... only to confess or acknowledge our sins ... For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Likely a gloss. A very lovely and fitting gloss however.