Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you want to do something badly and you are quite sure that no one will know if you do it?  There is one catch‑‑you know that you should not do it.  It is against your better judgment and deep within your heart you feel that you should not.  Then you think, "Nobody will know and besides just this one time won't count."  That is the predicament of TEMPTATION and it is a dilemma as old as the human race.  Way back in the Garden of Eden, man first faced temptation and yielded to it.  From that day to the present, men and women, teens and children have battled temptation.  It comes in all sizes and varieties‑‑ there are as many different kinds of temptation as there are human predicaments.

Dr. William Glasser told about the time when he was preparing to give his son a bath.  At that time the little boy was five years old.  The Glassers had two tubs‑‑a large one that would have allowed the little boy to kick and splash and a smaller one which had been used when he was little.  The little boy asserted his rugged individualism‑‑otherwise described as "stubborn independence"‑‑and announced that he wanted his bath in the small tub even though he knew the larger tub was easier to fill.

"Our needs just were not being met," says the father of four, "so we dropped out of church."  "He just is not meeting my needs," says a young wife to her best friend.  "Dad" says a teenager, "I need a new pair of pants for the game next Saturday."  "Heavenly Father," prays a businessman, "I need that deal I am working on.  Please help me to get the contract rather than my competitor."

Centuries ago the writer of Scripture said, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver" (Proverbs 25:11).  That is an interesting phrase, "apples of gold in pictures of silver."  Some think it referred to the lustrous beauty of the apricot amidst the bright foliage paled by the Palestinian sun.  Others think that it referred to the beautiful craftsmanship of an apple of solid gold amidst the delicate setting of silver, and certainly, the proverb written in the days of the wealthy King Solomon could have meant just that.  At any length, the writer is saying that the right word at the right time is indeed a beautiful thing.

Arnold Toynbee, a historian and critic of Western civilization, will long be remembered.  Toynbee, who died at the age of 86, was born on April 14, 1889 into a family of distinguished scholars and philanthropists.  Although he was best known for his twelve‑volume A Study of History, which was written over a 34‑year period, Toynbee was still vocal about a wide range of topics from sex to religion to the spread of cities.

When Howard Rutledge was shot down over Vietnam, he prayed for the first time in 20 years, but, believe me, it didn't take another 20 years for Rutledge to try prayer.  He started praying and praying hard.  "When one is dying from starvation," he later wrote of his ordeal, "a bowl of sewer greens is a gift from God.  Before every meal during my captivity," he said, "I offered a prayer of thanks."

A youth was speaking admirably of his father when he said, "When Dad's in trouble, he almost always prays."  Many of us are like that.  When we're facing danger, we are quick to call on the Almighty to get us out of a tough spot.  Many of our prayers are filled with rather personal requests--"Lord, give me this and give me that"--often asking for financial blessings, which we tend to think would solve all our problems.

When the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to teach them to pray, He said, "This is how you should pray:  ‘Our Father in heaven...’" Stop!  But just where is heaven?  Literally the words are "in the heavens."  The space that surrounds planet earth is really pretty vast, right?  Is this what He is talking about?  Yet, if you are in China and look overhead, you're looking at the opposite direction of our friends in Quito, Ecuador who are listening to this program.  Just where is the dwelling place of the Father? For a few moments, think with me about how vast the heavens really are.

"To be a Christian without prayer," said Martin Luther, "is no more possible than to be alive without breathing."  Yet, so often, we voice words mechanically and perfunctorily, and fail to grasp the meaning behind them.  How often have you prayed, "Our Father who art in heaven..." and repeated a prayer by rote, without even thinking of what you were saying?

Those of you who are familiar with computers are aware of pull-down menus.  When you touch one item, a whole series of possibilities opens up before you.  Such is the way it is with 57 Greek words which, translated into English, constitute a prayer we commonly refer to as The Lord's Prayer.  Each phrase in this dynamic prayer opens powerful vistas of spiritual insight and potential.