Jesus. Jesus and you!

Pray against temptation

"Pray that you may not enter into temptation," Luke 22:40 and again repeated in verse 46. These are the words of Jesus to His disciples at the Mount of Olives.  Jesus knew that He was going to be taken away to be crucified and that the time had come that His disciples would no longer be able to rely on His physical prescence around them to guard over them and keep them from harm and temptation.

Jesus loved His disciples, and He wished that they would continue to walk in His ways and to build His kingdom here on earth, just as Jesus loves you and is bonded to you in love and wishes for you to continue to build His Kingdom. These words were not only for the disciples but are as relevant to us today as they were to the disciples 2000 years ago.

Up until this stage, Jesus had done most of the praying. Jesus would often withdraw from the disciples and enter into relationship with the Father through prayer. It was the manner in which Jesus maintained relationship with the Father and in which Jesus drew His strength from the Father. In Luke 22:42 and 43 it describes how as Jesus was praying that an angel appeared and strengthened Him.

We are to draw near to God and have a perfect relationship with Him through Christ Jesus who loves us. We have been given the keys to Heaven through the name of Jesus and we are to enter into His prescence often through prayer and draw our strength for daily living. When you are in constant relationship through prayer, you are full of the light of His love, the devil can not come near you, for where there is light there can not be darkness. Greater is He that is inside of you than He that is in the world.

Temptation comes from the devil who will continually attempt to remove you from the narrow path to the kingdom of God and eternal life in heaven. Whenever temptation comes, it will always be at your moment of weakness and when you are vulnerable from not being in full relationship with God. As soon as you see temptation, recognise that it is from the evil one and enter into prayer, for in prayer you are in the Father's company, from which the devil will flee, and the temptation will be overcome. Resist the devil through prayer and by confessing that the Jesus that is inside of you, is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

Most of all, remain in constant prayer and relationship with the Father through Jesus, that you may walk in the fullness of His love for you and that the devil will not be able to come near to you due to the prescence of the Father around you.