Does God Ever Lead Us into Temptation?
The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
Ascension
4.9 • 7.1K Ratings
🗓️ 2 April 2020
⏱️ 6 minutes
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Summary
When we pray “lead us not into temptation”, it may seem like God has the capacity to tempt us. But that’s not the case. God does not tempt us, but he can and sometimes must put us through tests. Here are a four helpful ways to look at this part of the Our Father:
Tests reveal things to us. When God tests us, it reveals how much faith, hope, and love we have in God and for God.
Tests also strengthen us. As St. Paul says, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4).
When we say, “lead us not into temptation”, what we’re really asking is “God, please don’t test me beyond my ability.” Trials will and must come, but when they do, we should ask God for no more than what we can endure.
While God may not tempt us, the evil one does. God tests us by allowing the evil one to do what he does—so we can benefit from the strength and self-revelation that comes from the test.
Hopefully this helps you say this part of the Our Father with more understanding and stronger intent.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I just wanted to, before this, the video for this week, let you know about something |
| 0:04.9 | happening this weekend. |
| 0:06.3 | Our virtual silent retreat online this weekend, Palm Sunday weekend. |
| 0:10.6 | One of the things that can happen right is that I may be quarantined, but I am still |
| 0:14.0 | distracted. |
| 0:15.0 | I might be like, kind of secluded and isolated, but man, I have not let the Lord speak to |
| 0:20.5 | me. |
| 0:21.5 | So my invitation is, um, join us. |
| 0:23.6 | Five separate times, five distinct times beginning on Friday evening and ending midday |
| 0:28.1 | on Palm Sunday, where we just have a little reflection and then take time to let the |
| 0:32.7 | Lord speak to us in that silence. |
| 0:35.8 | Cost nothing to you, but it could give you everything you really are looking for this |
| 0:40.7 | length. |
| 0:41.7 | How many of you have been in this session? |
| 0:52.6 | So there's a prayer you might have heard of it before. |
| 0:54.9 | It's called the hour father or the Lord's Prayer, depending on where you're coming from |
| 0:59.2 | and where you learn that prayer. |
| 1:00.7 | There's an article, right? |
| 1:01.7 | There's a petition in the Lord's Prayer that says, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us |
| 1:06.1 | from evil. |
| 1:07.1 | And a lot of times that it's, that can be often difficult to understand. |
| 1:10.4 | Like where we're saying, what are we asking God? |
... |
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