We have been thinking about temptations of different sorts for a couple of weeks now, and these thoughts have come to me yet again…. A young man training for missionary service remembered hearing the following sentence, and he never forgot it…”.There’s no point in praying, ‘And lead us not into temptation’ if you go where temptation lurks “. This statement made a deep impression on him, and kept him from many a compromising situation.
A lady I once knew wanted badly to give up smoking. She had been convicted about the habit for a long time, but had excused herself by saying, “I know God loves me just the same if I smoke or if I don’t!!” Someone else asked “If you gave me your smokes today, how would you get on?” She promptly replied, “I’d just go and get another packet!” At least she was honest with that statement!!
But now the conviction had come more strongly than ever, and besides that she couldn’t really afford the weekly cost of her habit, so she once more asked for prayer to overcome it. We didn’t hear for some time if she had overcome it or not.
To go back to our original statement, God will only answer our prayer with a “yes” if we do our part by either keeping away from temptation or getting rid of the cause of it altogether. It’s a two-way thing, as are a lot of God’s promises. He will do His part if we will do ours.
It’s the same with salvation…He has provided it, but we have to take it from Him. When we are given a present, we have to take it and open it before we can enjoy it or use it. Let’s think about these things and get the full benefit from God’s promises!
