And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13)

What do you pray to be protection from? In 2006, Forbes Magazine listed the nine most common fears as the following:

● Bugs, Mice, Snakes, and Bats ● Heights ● Water
● Public Transportation ● Storms ● Closed Spaces
● Tunnels and Bridges ● Crowds ● Speaking in Public

The article quotes Jerilyn Ross, president and CEO of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, as saying, "They all have some potential threat of danger. The higher the person's perceived threat of danger, the more frightened the person will be."

Jesus prayed for protect not from these types of fears but from temptation. Why don't we pray for this? As Ms. Ross stated above, many people don't fear temptation because they don't see it as a big threat. In fact, we can be so overconfident in our resolve that we often hang around the things that tempt us the most. In terms of modern military tactics, a full frontal assault is an unlikely threat because it attacks the enemy's strongest point which requires lots of resources and has a high likelihood of failure. But if the line breaks, the defender is quickly scattered in confusion and obliterated. In spiritual warfare there is an unlimited supply of temptations. If you are always taking risks with these temptations, you are setting yourself up to fail. (Check out 1 Corinthians 10:12 and keep it open because we're going to get back to it.) A christian doesn't wake up and think “How can I sin today?” It's the temptation that eventually breaks your defenses and causes your defeat.
 

If that's the case, why would God lead us into temptation? (See James 1:13-14.) It's not that God tempts you but he allows it to happen. So how is that any different? It's the consequence of free will. In order to have the freedom to do the right thing, you also must have the freedom to face plant. But God's got your back. (Did you keep 1 Corinthians 10 open? Because now you should check out verses 13 and 14.)
 

Charles Allen wrote, “The biggest lie of the devil is that we have to sin. ‘After all, you are human’ he says, and thereby our high resolves are destroyed. We surrender and quit the struggle.” We are always taught in Sunday School that only Jesus could live a live without sin. Then why does he tell us to do exactly that in Matthew 5:48? It's true that you can not be perfect by yourself, but you can do anything with God's help (Philippians 4:13). So how do we get this supernatural backing? Oh, I dunno, perhaps through a prayer like this one.

If your military strategy is to take off your clothes and run right at the enemy because no one wants to fight a naked guy: