Praying Pre-Emptively

“Oh, Lord, hold us back and do not let us take the path into trials.”

That’s what scholar of Near Eastern Studies and professor of New Testament, Joachim Jeremias contends Jesus is teaching us to pray when He said, “And lead us not into temptation…” (Matthew 6:13).

Jesus presumes we are prone to be drawn into situations that exasperate the sufficient troubles of the day. We are, as we said no Sunday, suckers for drama of the soul. The problem is, once we are caught up in the drama, it’s really difficult to be at peace, much less be a peacemaker. So, Jesus teaches us a daily prayer of pre-emptive avoidance:

“We don’t know what we are getting ourselves into today, but you do. We trust you to guide us, leading us not into drama but through the troubles of the day.”