"Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not" Jeremiah 33:3.

God encourages us to pray. They tell us that prayer is a pious exercise which has no influence except upon the mind engaged in it. We know better. Our experience gives the lie a thousand times over to this infidel assertion. Here Jehovah, the living God, distinctly promises to answer the prayer of His servant. Let us call upon Him again and admit no doubt upon the question of His hearing us and answering us. He that made the ear, shall He not hear? He that gave parents a love to their children, will He not listen to the cries of His own sons and daughters!

It is the great duty of all believers not to enter into temptation. God indeed is able to "deliver the godly out of temptations" (2 Peter 2:9). Yet it is our great task to use all diligence so that we do not fall into temptation. Our Savior expresses His concern for His disciples by teaching them to pray, "Lead us not into temptation" (Matt. 6:13). Since our Lord knows the power of temptation, having experienced it, He knows how vulnerable we are to it (Heb. 2:18). He rewards our obedience by keeping us "in the hour of temptation" (Rev. 3:10).

Let us learn more about the power of temptation in order to avoid it. Since temptation brings out many basic issues, Scripture has much to say about it. In the parable of the sower, Christ compares the seed sown on the rocky, thin soil to those who, "when they hear, receive the word with joy, but have no root, for they only believe for a while" (Luke 8:13). The preaching of the Word affects them. They believe. They make a profession. They bring forth some fruit. But how long do they continue? Christ Says, "In time of temptation they fall away" (Luke 8:13). Once tempted, they are gone forever.

Likewise, in Matthew 7:26, Jesus speaks of the parable of the "foolish man, who built his house upon the sand." But what happens to this house of professed faith? It shelters its occupant, it keeps him warm, and it stands for awhile. But when the rain descends (that is to say, when temptation comes), it falls utterly, and its fall is great. This foolish man is like Judas, who followed our Savior three years. All went well for a time. But he no sooner entered into temptation –when Satan winnowed him –than he was lost. Demas preached the gospel until the love of the world entered into his soul, and then he turned utterly aside as well.

Among the saints of God, we see the solemn power of temptation. Take Adam, "the son of God," created in the image of God, full of integrity, righteousness, and holiness (Luke 3:38). He possessed a far greater inherent stock of ability than we have, since he had never been enticed or seduced. Yet no sooner did Adam enter into temptation but he was undone, lost, and ruined, and all his posterity with him. What should we expect then, when in our temptations we must deal not only with a cunning devil, but also with a cursed world and a corrupt heart?

Abraham is called the father of the faithful for it is his faith that is recommended as the pattern to all who believe (Rom. 4:11-17). Yet twice he entered into the same temptation (namely, his fear about his wife). Twice he committed sin. He dishonored God, and no doubt his soul lost its peace (See Genesis 12 and 20).

David is called "a man after [God's] own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14). Yet what a dreadful story we read of his immorality! No sooner did temptation entangle him than he plunged into adultery. Seeking deliverance by his own devices, he became all the more entangled until he lay as one dead under the power of sin and folly.

We should also mention Noah, Lot, Hezekiah, and Peter, whose temptations and falls God recorded for our own instruction. Like the inhabitants of Samaria who received the letter of Jehu, we should ask, "If two kings were not able to stand before him, how then shall we stand?" (2 Kings 10:4). For this reason the apostle urges us to exercise tenderness toward those who fall into sin. Paul writes, "Consider yourselves, lest you also be tempted"

(Gal. 6:1). Seeing the power of temptation in others, let us beware, for we do not know when or how we also may be tempted. What folly it is that many should be so blind and bold, after all these and other warnings, to put themselves before temptation.

We need to examine ourselves to see our own weaknesses, and to note the power and efficacy of temptation. In ourselves, we are weakness itself. We have no strength, no power to withstand. Self-confidence produces a large part of our weakness, as it did with Peter. He who boasts that he can do anything, can in fact do nothing as he should. This is the worst form of weakness, similar to treachery. However strong a castle may be, if a treacherous party resides inside (ready to betray at the first opportunity possible), the castle cannot be kept safe from the enemy. Traitors occupy our own hearts, ready to side with every temptation and to surrender to them all.