When Jesus went into the wilderness, he was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4). He was tempted about three things.
First, the devil said (my paraphrase), “Hey. You are hungry. You have desires and needs. Use that power to satisfy these. Make bread from rocks.” Jesus refused this, saying that we need more than bread to live.
Second, the devil said, “See if God will really protect you. Get safety no matter what you do.”Jesus refused this, too, saying that he wasn’t going to put God to the test.
Third, the devil said, “Go for the gold, man. Get influence, affluence. Get people to like you, follow you. Get your name out there.” Jesus, once again, refused this, saying that God alone will get his allegiance and devotion.
The other day it struck me. When I listen to my common prayers, I hear similar themes.
Most often prayed for: desires and needs to be met, safety in what I am doing and success in pursuits of the day.
Is this coincidental? Am I praying exactly in line with the temptations of Jesus?
Perhaps there’s a fine line between prayers for my needs/desires to be met, my physical safety, the success of what I am doing… and living on bread alone, putting the Lord my God to the test, and selling my soul.
Yes, that's a difficult balance to strike. I wonder how that lines up with how Jesus showed us to pray: for daily bread, and to be led away from evil. Love you, sis.
ReplyDeleteWow. I love how you boiled the temptations down to their essence: needs/desires, safety, glory. Maybe, holding that up against Jesus' model for us in prayer, we get a guide as to which desires/needs to pray for (bread. daily. i.e. bare necessities), what kind of safety is important (spiritual, but not always physical?), and whose success matters (His). Gonna be thinking on this some more. Thanks for the ponderings, cousins ... :)
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