We don’t know exactly what Jesus meant by this – though we can be pretty sure that
1. it is NOT the plea of a lawyer seeking to settle a lawsuit; and
2. “lead us not into temptation” is a mistranslation that can lead us into some confusion.
“Time of trial” may refer to encountering persecution for our faith, or to a situation in which our faith is tested – by doubts, by adversity, by complacency, or other trials that can come our way. Having our faith tested is one of the ways it grows, but we don’t have to welcome trials that come from outside. We can find better ways to strengthen our faith – we can exercise it regularly the way we exercise our bodies or our wills.
We exercise faith by believing in what cannot be seen.
We exercise our faith by allowing our doubts room for play. Doubt is not the enemy of faith; it is an integral component, part of the process, not where we end up.
Mostly, we exercise our faith in prayer – prayer for God’s healing love and power to be released in bodies, in nations, in communities, in situations we cannot control. Every time we exercise faith for healing in a small situation, we are strengthened to believe in God’s power to overcome bigger challenges.
Today, try praying your way through the Lord’s Prayer as Luke records it:
- Establish the relationship with your heavenly “Dad”
- Acknowledge God’s holiness
- Pray and believe for your daily “enough”
- Offer up any areas of sin that are troubling you and forgive any grudges that may have crept in.
- Affirm God’s power to protect you from “times of trial,” and exercise your faith muscles by believing that God is active in some situation you find troubling. It might be a physical ailment, an emotional condition, a relational issue, a work problem – or something small, like world peace.
When we know God is close to us, we can worry a lot less about the trials.
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