A Prayer for Strength to Resist Temptation

Father, the pull is here right now, in this moment, and it is strong. My hands are restless. My mind is already halfway down the old road, rehearsing how easy it would be, how no one would know.

I confess part of me wants it more than I want to be free, and that scares me. I am standing at the edge and the ground is crumbling.

So I am crying out before I move, not after. Reach me here, in the gap between the urge and the act, where everything is decided.

Make a way out for me that I can actually take. Move my feet. Put a wall between me and the thing I am reaching for. Send the craving back like a wave that breaks and pulls away. Let me last five more minutes, and then five more, until the worst of it passes.

You promised no temptation would come without a way of escape You provide. Show me the escape You have made. I am looking for it.

I give You these next moments, the most dangerous ones. Stand with me until the wanting loosens its grip. Get me through this, and I will thank You on the other side. Amen.