Friday 3rd July*
And lead us not into temptation
The power of temptation can be overwhelming: each one of us has our own specific areas of weakness where we can succumb to doing things we know to be wrong. Jesus was different. Despite the most profound targeted temptation, temptation cunningly devised by Satan himself, Jesus overcame (Matthew 4). Jesus used the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to triumph. Wonderfully, we have access to the same equipment as Jesus. Peter reminds us of this when he tells believers that God’s ‘divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness… [so we] can participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption [of evil desires],’ (2 Peter 3-4). Wow! Nothing has been overlooked by God in enabling us to live like Jesus.
So powerful is God’s Spirit that long-term temptations can dissolve in his presence. Baptism can be a powerful step for many in this process. For example, I have heard testimonies of deeply entrenched addictions being cleansed during baptism. One man told me that he had chain smoked for years, but once he was baptised, all temptation to do so went up in smoke. In fact, his wife commented a week after his baptism that he had not smoked a single cigarette. He hadn’t noticed, or even given smoking a single thought, so powerful was his deliverance. Of course, other sins may not so easily fade. Nonetheless, we still have everything we need for life and godliness. Phew!
Reflection
Which temptations or habits has the Holy Spirit helped you overcome in your life: did you even notice at first?
Which blessings did the Holy Spirit give you instead of these temptations?
How will the lives of our women be changed when Jesus delivers them from the temptations of addiction, control and hurt?
Thanksgiving
Praise Jesus that you have every single thing you need to live a life of godliness, and that you have the same equipment as he had!
Grace has left sex work and she can live a brand new life with the strength and encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
Other women will join Grace in leaving addiction, homelessness, sexual exploitation and shame.
Prayer
That you would continue to overcome temptation in the power of the Holy Spirit and fortified by the Word of God.
That the staff and volunteer team at Chosen would be shielded from temptation and distraction so we glorify Jesus instead.
That we would see the women baptised in water and the Holy Spirit so they leave behind their old lives and old selves.
Our women
Please pray for salvation, healing, strength, deliverance and new lives for our women:
Naomi, Olivia, Rose, Ruby, Yasmine, Yolande.
* We will be prayer walking around Desborough Road, meeting in the foyer of the King’s Centre, Desborough Road at 07:30pm and finishing with refreshments in the West End Hall at 9:00pm. (We will be joining a King’s Church prayer meeting in its main auditorium for the first half an hour and the last fifteen minutes, and we will receive prayer as a team during these times.)