Satan, of course, tries to interfere and break the cycle. He attempts to attack us at every level, even at the sacred shrine of prayer itself. Yet Christ-like prayer is one of our greatest defenses against attack.
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41 cf. Luke 21:36; 22:46; 1 Peter 4:7; 5:7-8).
In Luke 11 Jesus teaches us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:4). That includes temptations to…
- neglect and trivialize prayer
- make prayer itself an escape from responsibility
- make prayer a substitute for action
- turn prayer into an over-ruling of divine will
- ask and never thank
- thank only when we get an answer we like.
What are we to do when Satan trips us up? This is where the lesson on persistence pays off again. For each time we fail, we repent and come right back to the door and knock again. In Luke 11 our Lord taught us to pray, “Forgive us our sins…” (Luke 11:4 cf. Acts 8:22). Each set-back underlines again our need to draw closer to the Father.