Temptation Is Inevitable: Praying in Preparation (Matthew 26:36-46).Wednesday March 4, 2026
Intro:
Temptation is a test designed to make you fail. The NT has a specific Greek word for this; peirazo.
Temptation is coming no matter what. God will not stop the soldiers no matter what they may pray.
[main point] Temptation is inevitable, but as we have drawn near to God in prayer and study, we discover the way through temptation without falling into sin.
Mat 26:39-41 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
The events and the doings of people are going to continue as God allows human will.
The alert disciple is a praying one, who would not have feared what suddenly and unexpectedly came.
And, if the weak options are fallen into, God has to lead you out. We don’t stop praying because we went the wrong way.
Peirazo: A test designed to make you fail.
In Mat 4 the Lord responded with Scripture.
Mat 4:1-4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"
The temptation is to act on His own and go outside the plan of the Father, the Trinity, for Him to be truly human and remain in the limitations and weakness of humanity. Mankind can only rely on God for food, for everything.
Psa 104:14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth,
Mat 4:8-11 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
Worship and serve God only – not another beast or person, and not yourself.
[model prayer] “Father, lead us not into the temptation of doing things our own way when your way seems longer and more difficult, deliver us from the evil one who will tell us there is another, better way.”
Paul in Act 20:
Act 20:18-21 “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
As our Lord in Gethsemane, Paul experienced grief (tears) and temptation (trials is our word peirazo) and from the same people - the religious Jews (Paul of course being a Jew who loved his countrymen as the Lord did).
Paul expands on some of these trials in his second letter to the Corinthians. Imprisonments, beaten so many times he lost count, coming close to death, 5 sets of 39 lashes, 3 sets of beating with rods, stoned to death, shipwrecked three times, always in danger on the road, almost drowning crossing rivers, robbed, threatened by Jews and Gentiles everywhere he went (country or city), going hungry, thirsty, unable to sleep, exposed to cold without relief (2Co 11:23-28). On top of that, he said, he was plagued with concern for all the churches that he had to leave who were instantly besought with attacks from false people and their lies about him and about Christ.
The situation in Gethsemane (temptation and the need for wisdom, humility, and prayer) exists throughout the church and in your life. Asia became Paul’s Gethsemane (Europe also).
Then he says something (in 2Co 11) that harkens directly back to Gethsemane:
2Co 11:29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
Amazingly, Paul’s prayers, of which many are in his writings, are hardly ever for himself, but for the spiritual life of others.
Yet, on occasion: 2Th 3:1-2 Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; 2 and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.
So Paul prayed for deliverance and he discovered the truth of his ministry. Paul was given the answer from God that he must fulfill his ministry to teach the gospel.
Act 20:20-21 “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And he knew that savage wolves (false teachers) would come.
Act 20:29-31 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.
Act 20:36 When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
[model prayer] “Our Father, do not lead us into a false view of ministry, that it is to always be comfortable and not challenging, and deliver us from the evil one who tells us that there is a better way than Yours.” Amen
The Galatians:
Gal 4:12-14 I beg of you, brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong; 13 but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time; 14 and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.
Paul was ill. Again we have the word weak and flesh. The flesh is weak.
In the Greco-Roman world, sickness was weakness and it was detestable. So, in Galatia, the man who told everyone about the one true God and His salvation through His Son who died on a cross, is himself bedridden with sickness … the Galatians would have been mocked mercilessly.
[model prayer] “Our Father, do not lead us to succumb to the opinions of others when they are not Your opinions, but lead us into the way of Your love, and deliver us from the evil one who gives the world their opinions. Amen”
However, the Galatians did fall into temptation. If they had been praying as instructed, they would have avoided it. They became weak because they believed the lie that the church was still under the Mosaic law and in their weakness they adopted a ritual based religion.
[model prayer] “Our Father, do not lead us into over simplified theology. Lead us again in the richness of Christ’s life and deliver us from the evil one who lies about what simplicity really means. Amen.”
There are several other instances of peirazo:
1Ti 6:9-10 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
This is soil #3 – the siren song of temptation of the flesh: cares and money.
Jam 1:2-4 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
God did not bring it. He allowed it. I think this is one of the clearest examples of God turning a curse into a blessing. The sin He allowed in the world is used to strengthen our faith and endurance. Prayer will enable you to remember this (petition #6); which is more than half the battle.
If we fall into it, we’re not done. Pray. Lead me another way, deliver me from evil.
Peter agrees:
1Pe 1:6-9 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 4:12-13 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.
2Pe 2:9 the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
We need to keep drawing near throughout the day in prayer so that we can find out or be reminded of what He knows.
Close / Summary:
Temptation is inevitable, but as we have drawn near to God in prayer and study, we discover the way through temptation without falling into sin.
Keeping alert and praying:
Prayer keeps these answers flowing in the heart; ready for the next weakness of temptation that will come without warning.
You must accept the answer. 2Co 12. (more passages?)
You must be prepared:
Being alert to the Trinity’s presence consistently throughout your day (taking it one day at a time).
Pray as you enter into each part of the day. Maintain contact and do not take a wrong mental attitude into a situation. |