Temptation

The Book of Common Prayer (the original prayer book) contains a series of prayers which has the following request: "From fornication, and all other deadly sin; and from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil, Good Lord, deliver us." The world, the flesh and the devil is a neat summary of the sources of temptation. The world tempts us with its way of doing things, the flesh tempts us to indulge it, and the devil seeks to stop us doing what God really requires. The temptations of Jesus can fit loosely into these categories (although the devil is involved in all). The temptation to turn bread into food is the testing of the flesh; the temptation to accept the kingdoms of the world is the deception of the world, and the temptation to test God's promise is the deceit of the devil. In our own lives it is helpful to identify the primary source of a temptation. Is this a temptation based on a bodily appetite? Is this a temptation to do as the world does? Is this a temptation from the evil one (often based on misinterpreting or misapplying Scripture)? Knowing the source can help us resist.