Read: Matthew 6:9-13

What temptations are you most prone to give into? 

Jesus ends His prayer by praying for protection: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). 

We all need God to protect us. It doesn't matter how long you have been a Christian or how strong you think your faith may be; if Jesus had to pray for protection, we need to do the same. 

Perhaps the most powerful story of fasting in Scripture is when Jesus went out into the wilderness and abstained from food and water for forty days. At the end of the forty days, Satan met him in the wilderness to tempt him. 

It's easy to read that and think how scary it must've been for Jesus to be tempted while He was so weak, but the opposite is actually true. After forty days of fasting, Jesus was physically weak, but He was spiritually strong. Although it may not feel like it at the moment, fasting increases our ability to fight off temptation and be the men and women God wants us to be. 

Jesus’s ministry began right after He got back from the wilderness. This is a very common pattern. As we approach the second week of fasting, be encouraged that God may have called you to do this fast because He has a big next step coming for you. 

That should excite you, but it should also give you all the more reason to pray that God would protect you in the process. Spend a couple of minutes calling out the things that tempt you by name. Get specific. Is it greed? lust? power? fame? Don't be embarrassed. God knows you better than you know yourself. Call it out and then ask God to protect you by praying this prayer: 

Prayer: Father, I feel good right now, but you know how quickly that can turn. As I go throughout my day, I pray that you would lead me down a path of righteousness. I know the enemy is trying to take me down. So, Lord, protect me from any temptations that may come my way and deliver me from the evil one, in Jesus’ name, amen.