PRAYER FROM LUTHER’S PRAYERS: FIRST SUNDAY

Preserve us from forces of the devil. Let us not sanction IN LENT

pride, our own pleasures, and other detractions, for the sake
of riches, fame, power, skill, popularity, or any other gift of
yours. Guard us against yielding to hatred and envy for any
cause. Preserve us now and until our last moment from
following the disputes of faith and the despair that follows.
Amen.

From Luther’s Small Catechism:

The Lord’s Prayer:
The Sixth Petition
Save us from the time of trial.

What is this?
It is true that God tempts no one, but we ask in this
prayer that God would preserve and keep us, so that
the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us
or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great
and shameful sins, and that, although we may be
attacked by them, we may finally prevail and gain the
victory. O Lord God, you led your ancient people through the
wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide
now the people of your Church, that, following our Savior,
we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the
glory of the world to come; through your Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
GOSPEL: Luke 4:1-13
Jesus full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and
was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 where for forty days
he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during
those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus
answered him, ‘It is written, ‘One does not live by bread
alone.’”
5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an
instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to
him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority, for
it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus
answered him, “It is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed
him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are
the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is
written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,’
11 and
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a
stone.’”
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your
God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished every test,
he departed from him until an opportune time.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN ?
For ye have not a high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews iv. 15.
When the devil tempts me, my heart is comforted and
my faith is strengthened, because I know Him who for my
sake has overcome the devil, and that He comes to me to be
my help and my comfort. Thus faith overcomes the devil.
Therefore, first, God teaches me faith, that I may know that
for my sake Christ has overcome the devil. Then, since I
now know that the devil has no power over me but is
overcome by faith, I must be ready to be tempted. The
purpose of this is that my faith may be strengthened, and that
my neighbor may be given an example by my victory over
temptation, and may be comforted.
And mark this: whenever faith begins, temptation
soon follows. The Holy Ghost does not leave you to rest in
quietness, but soon He throws you into temptation. Why? In
order that your faith may be confirmed, for otherwise the
devil would blow us about like chaff. But if God comes and
hangs a weight on us, making us weighty and heavy, then it
is manifest to the devil and to all mankind that the power of
God is at work. Thus God manifests His glory and majesty
in our weakness, therefore He casts us out into the desert,
that is, He casts us down, so that we are deserted of all
creatures and can see no help. We even think that God
Himself has utterly forsaken us. For as He acts towards
Christ, even so does He act toward us. It does not run
smoothly. Our heart must faint within us.
Sermon from the year 1523. W.A. 11. 22 f.
Taken from the book:
Day by Day We Magnify Thee by Martin Luther
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