Read the Westminster Standards in a year.

Shorter Catechism

Q 106. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?

A. In the sixth petition, which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, we pray that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin,1 or support and deliver us when we are tempted.2

Larger Catechism

Q 195. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?

A. In the sixth petition, (which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,3) acknowledging, that the most wise, righteous, and gracious God, for divers holy and just ends, may so order things, that we may be assaulted, foiled, and for a time led captive by temptations;4 that Satan,5 the world,6 and the flesh, are ready powerfully to draw us aside, and ensnare us;7 and that we, even after the pardon of our sins, by reason of our corruption,8 weakness, and want of watchfulness,9 are not only subject to be tempted, and forward to expose ourselves unto temptations,10 but also of ourselves unable and unwilling to resist them, to recover out of them, and to improve them;11 and worthy to be left under the power of them:12 we pray, that God would so overrule the world and all in it,13 subdue the flesh,14 and restrain Satan,15 order all things,16 bestow and bless all means of grace,17 and quicken us to watchfulness in the use of them, that we and all his people may by his providence be kept from being tempted to sin;18 or, if tempted, that by his Spirit we may be powerfully supported and enabled to stand in the hour of temptation;19 or when fallen, raised again and recovered out of it,20 and have a sanctified use and improvement thereof:21 that our sanctification and salvation may be perfected,22 Satan trodden under our feet,23 and we fully freed from sin, temptation, and all evil, forever.24


  1. Psalm 19:13

    Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
    Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

    Matthew 26:41

    Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

    John 17:15

    I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. (ESV)

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  2. Luke 22:31-32

    “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

    1 Corinthians 10:13

    No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

    2 Corinthians 12:7-9

    So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

    Hebrews 2:18

    For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (ESV)

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  3. Matthew 6:13

    And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

    Luke 11:4

    and forgive us our sins,
    for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
    And lead us not into temptation.”
    (ESV)

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  4. 2 Chronicles 32:31

    And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart. (ESV)

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  5. 1 Chronicles 21:1

    21:1 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. (ESV)

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  6. Luke 21:34

    “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

    Mark 4:19

    but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (ESV)

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  7. James 1:14

    But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (ESV)

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  8. Galatians 5:17

    For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (ESV)

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  9. Matthew 26:41

    Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (ESV)

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  10. Matthew 26:69-72

    Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.”

    Galatians 2:11-14

    But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

    2 Chronicles 18:3

    Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”

    2 Chronicles 19:2

    But Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. (ESV)

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  11. Romans 7:23-24

    but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

    1 Chronicles 21:1-4

    21:1 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” But Joab said, “May the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are! Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord’s servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?” But the king’s word prevailed against Joab. So Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came back to Jerusalem.

    2 Chronicles 16:7-10

    At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.” Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time. (ESV)

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  12. Psalm 81:11-12

    “But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel would not submit to me.
    So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels. (ESV)

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  13. John 17:15

    I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. (ESV)

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  14. Psalm 51:10

    Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.

    Psalm 119:133

    Keep steady my steps according to your promise,
    and let no iniquity get dominion over me. (ESV)

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  15. 2 Corinthians 12:7-8

    So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. (ESV)

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  16. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

    Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (ESV)

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  17. Hebrews 13:20-21

    Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)

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  18. Matthew 26:41

    Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

    Psalm 19:13

    Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
    Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression. (ESV)

    ↩︎
  19. Ephesians 3:14-17

    For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

    1 Thessalonians 3:13

    so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

    Jude 1:24

    Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, (ESV)

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  20. Psalm 51:12

    Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit. (ESV)

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  21. 1 Peter 5:8-10

    Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (ESV)

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  22. 2 Corinthians 13:7

    But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.

    2 Corinthians 13:9

    For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. (ESV)

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  23. Romans 16:20

    The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

    Luke 22:31-32

    “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (ESV)

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  24. John 17:15

    I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

    1 Thessalonians 5:23

    Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)

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Copyright © Tim Hopper. Based on Calendar of Readings in the Westminster Standards by Dr. Joey Pipa. Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.