Praying with a new word
Fr Johan Strydom, Plettenberg Bay – Michael Shackleton’s Open Door (May 18) about Lead us not into temptation refers. I find it helpful to understand that God does not tempt us to sin, and that the English word tempt can also mean to test.
In fact the original Greek means: Do not put us to the test. God must and does test us so we can show our love and faithfulness.
So which test does Jesus teach us to ask not to be put to? The only test that we will always fail that is, the test of God’s infinite justice.
If God had to test and measure us according to his justice, our guilt would cause us to fail. So what we are asking for is this: Do not put us to the test of your infinite justice, but in your infinite mercy deliver us from our evil done and the evil one.
This is how I pray then: Lead us not into temptesting – coining a new word that I am more comfortable with than temptation.
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