SIN'S EXIT (6)

FOCUSING ON THE EXIT (2) So turning from self-destructive cravings requires focusing on God. No problem we think. I’ll just increase my religious disciplines and pray more fervently for deliverance from temptation. Not so fast. That is not the Way. Vowing to perform some discipline can distract us for a while but can never free us from the cravings that lead us back to temptation. Prayer is the right idea but prayer will never free us from temptation. In giving us the Lord’s Prayer Jesus was not to telling us what to ask for as much as how to pray in accordance with God’s will. By teaching His disciples to pray for deliverance from evil we can be assured that our deliverance from self-destructive cravings agrees with God’s will for us. However notice He did not teach us to pray for God to deliver us from temptation. Even though God will never tempt anyone neither will He ever deliver anyone from temptation. Temptation is not evil as explained in the previous post. We are freed by a simply shift of focus. When tempted, our spirit being conscious of God’s presence within, is the focus that sets us free from (evil) destructive cravings. That focus is achieved by prayer. Not a prayer for deliverance from our temptations but a prayer like Paul’s for the Ephesians. He prayed God would “give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him”. Specifically go to God and pray that He will give you God-consciousness. God-consciousness is perhaps a more contemporary way to express “the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness”. We know God will give us this necessary focus when ask because as you can see it is totally God’s will that we know Him within. Matt. 6:13, 2Pet. 2:20, 1 Tim.2:4, Eph. 1:17, Titus 1:1 The final “Exit” post in this series deals with how God-consciousness, “the knowledge of God,” works in freeing us from self-destructive cravings. All of the previous “Exit” posts are on my profile page.