Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
James Martin, S.J.November 04, 2019
(iStock)

Subscribe to "The Examen" for free on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe to "The Examen" for free on Google Play 
Join our Patreon Community 

What’s your experience of praying while you’re tempted? And don’t tell me that you’ve never had that problem before. Everyone gets tempted from time to time, even the most spiritually experienced. A few years ago a sister who was on retreat with me told me that she had a hard time praying with Ignatian contemplation, that is, imagining yourself in a Scripture passage. She said that she had no imagination. I wasn’t sure what to say about that, until an idea dawned on me. I said, “Sister, have you never once had a sexual fantasy?” And she laughed out loud, and I said, “I guess you do have an imagination!” 

But temptation in prayer isn’t limited to those kinds of distractions; it’s something broader. You can be tempted to all sorts of things while you’re praying. You can be tempted to anger over something minor. Or to a desire for revenge towards someone against whom you’ve held a grudge. Or temptation to think more about material things, like buying a new phone, when you should be focused on God. What do you do with these temptations? Well, first, recognize them, and don’t let them disturb you. Let them go if you can and refocus on God. But if you can’t let them go, then bring them into your prayer. It might be an invitation to ask God about them. Or it may simply be an invitation to pray while you’re tempted. Maybe you can say, “God, I’m tempted but I’m still with you.” God will understand. After all, the Gospels tell us that even Jesus was tempted. Remember that God is always with you, even while you’re tempted.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
Michael Barberi
5 years 5 months ago

Thanks, Fr. Martin.

Nancy D.
5 years 5 months ago

“God, I am tempted, but I am still with you.”

God desires that we desire, to overcome our disordered inclinations and become transformed through our acceptance of Salvational Love, God’s Gift Of Grace and Mercy, so that we may develop Holy and healthy relationships and friendships, that are grounded in authentic Love, in private and in public and thus are respectful of the inherent Dignity of ourselves and others.
Thus we can know through both Faith and reason, It is not The Faithful who are guilty of denying “the respect, compassion, and sensitivity due”, to those persons who desire to overcome their disordered same-sex sexual attractions, “and are called to fulfill God’s Will in their lives”- that all persons experience authentic Salvational Love, no, it is those who insist that a disordered same-sex sexual attraction is “the very deepest part of their being”, unreachable from “That Light That Shines In The Darkness”, The Power And The Glory Of God’s Transforming Love.
Do not let your heart be hardened due to a failure to Love your beloved enough to tell them The Good News; Love, which is always rightly ordered to the inherent personal and relational Dignity of the persons existing in a relationship of Love, can make all things new again, due to the Power and Glory Of God’s Grace and Mercy.
Godspeed

The latest from america

Chinese rescue workers stand at the site of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 31, 2025, in the aftermath of a strong earthquake that struck three days earlier. People in Myanmar are in desperate need of humanitarian supplies and medical support as the death toll from the devastating earthquake that rocked central Myanmar continues to rise. (OSV News/Reuters)
“Hospitals are overwhelmed, and people are sleeping out on the streets, anywhere they can, in fields and playgrounds and religious compounds.”
Kevin ClarkeApril 02, 2025
As we enter into Holy Week, join America Media for a subscriber-only virtual event with James Martin, S.J., and ‘Jesuitical’ hosts Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless.
America StaffApril 01, 2025
“Having a sensory room in a place of worship is probably more important than anywhere else because everyone should feel welcome in their faith.”
Sean QuinnApril 01, 2025
Sports hasn't always been the most popular topic among America's editors and contributors—unless it was the Grand Old Game, baseball.
James T. KeaneApril 01, 2025