Beware Of The Tempter

Focus: Mark 1:12-14 - KJV

12. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. 13. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. 14. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

Matthew 4:1-11

In this present world, temptation is a regular phenomenon for the believer, aimed at separating him from his God, who is his defense from the destroyer. No matter how spiritual or standing we think we are, the essence of the instruction to watch and pray is so as not to fall into temptation. God is not a tempter with evil. But when tempted, if we truly belong to God, He would send His angels to succor us. Those who do not have God are prone to falling into diverse kinds of temptations. Even when the believer is buffeted in temptation, he has in Christ a High Priest who can be touched with the pangs of the temptation having been tempted before, Himself. The fact that we carry the Holy Spirit does not exclude us from being tempted of the devil.

The tempter respects nothing: not even the anointing. Christ is the anointed one, yet he got hold of Him to tempt Him. David was king in Israel; the Bible spoke about the tempter getting hold of Israel by causing David to conduct a census, wrongly. Peter was the chief of the Apostles to whom the key of the Kingdom was given by Christ. The tempter sought to sift him like wheat but Christ prayed for him. If not for those prayers, the rock would have been shattered and dumped when tempted and failed in three times denying his Lord. King Saul lost his crown when the enemy caused him to make a sacrifice he was not meant to, because his patience weaned. Even the Apostles were tempted and they hurriedly made Matthias a replacement for Judas prior to their receiving the Holy Spirit of promise, who would have taught them the way to go.

The Lord needs us to understand that the enemy is constantly on the prowl to steal, kill and destroy. All these he does through deceit which comes in the way of temptation. Job was put in a dare strait to make him believe God is unfaithful to him. If deceived, he was to have denied God. The essence of temptation is that we may deny God. Hence, God is saying, no matter what we face, we should stand firm in Christ who can give us succor in the midst of temptation and He will send us angels to minister to us. The greatest antidote to temptation is to obey the injunction that directs us to watch and pray. Let us be intentional with our prayer life, that we may not be led into temptation, or fall into it.

Please pray:

Father, I thank you for preventing the tempter from making me fall thus far. I look to you my Daddy: please do not allow the enemy to push me down. Every temptation that will be too much for me to handle, do not let it ever come my way, in Jesus’ name. Please, give me total victory over the temptation that I am facing currently, in Jesus’ name. Like you did with Christ while on earth, please give your angels charge to help me always, so that I may not fall into temptation and let the power in the name of Jesus grant me reprieve in all temptations, in Jesus’ name.

Please share with others. God bless you.