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Nephi 18:15, 18-19 Verily, verily, I say
unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and
ye be led away captive by him. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must
watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have
you, that he may sift you as wheat. Therefore ye must always pray unto the
Father in my name;
The Savior is the only one who ever lived who was perfectly
righteous. Even though he was tempted in
all the same ways that we are, he never gave in, and he faithfully followed His
Father in all things, and he lived a wholly sinless life (see Hebrews 4:14-15). This makes Christ the unopposed champion of
resisting temptation. Not only do we
have his powerful example of obedience to guide us, but he also left us valuable
teachings concerning how best to resist temptation and how to avoid it when possible. Given Christ’s sinless life
and example, it makes sense to look carefully at the things he taught about
resisting temptation. Namely, he exhorted
His disciples to “watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation.”
Why is it that constant prayer so effective a remedy in
staving off temptation? One answer has to
do with the fact that the devil never sleeps.
He and his angels have nothing better to do than to try to lead you
astray, and he is obsessed with your destruction. I don’t know what it feels like to be sifted
as wheat, but if Satan wants to do it to you, you can bet it’s not pleasant. The only way to combat an enemy that never
rests is to turn to God, who will never rest in providing and guiding us in the
way to joy and salvation. God is more
powerful than the devil, and his voice can dispel the seductive tendrils of
temptation. We need Him in our lives,
and prayer is the way for us to access God and His power. That is why the devil works so hard to get us
to neglect the habit and practice of prayer in our lives.
