Let no man say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God can't be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death." James 1:13–15 WEB.

The peaceful water of the Waccamaw River near our home is as black as coffee. They say the color comes from the tannins released by the surrounding tree roots and vegetation, which color the water like tea leaves. The white sandy bottom gives it a dark reddish tint in the shallows. Together, it all creates a beautiful, serene environment and makes it a great place to pray.

One summer, after being laid off from my job, I enjoyed a lot of time there. I spent the early mornings fishing and praying, then the afternoons looking for work. One of these peaceful mornings, I was in my boat fishing and listening to the Bible being read on CD. I hadn't caught anything. It was almost noon, so I decided to try one more spot and head back to the boat landing.

I paddled my boat up to the narrow mouth of Simpson Creek and made one last cast. Right after my lure sank into the black water, I felt a slight bump on the line. I thought it might have struck a log, but just in case, I took the slack out of the line and yanked back on the rod to set the hook.

Whatever was on the other end didn't budge at all. The rod just bent double as if I had caught a stump. Then... Slowly, the line started moving off to the right. I began to reel, thinking I may have a big cat or bowfin. Then, a huge largemouth bass broke the water and danced by the boat on its tail. My heart was racing. The fight was on!

That was the first fish that I could pull against as hard as I could, and it didn't seem to matter. I had to wear it down. I fought with it for what seemed like a long time before it finally gave up, and I wrestled him into the boat. It was just under eight pounds.

All morning, I had cast lures in front of fish that they wouldn't bite. My bait wasn't tempting to them. They weren't hungry for what I was offering. Finally, I found one that was, and I caught him. He passionately went after the bait, hook, line, and sinker. In this case, it was a five-inch black plastic worm, and that fish desired it.

James made it clear that nothing outside of you tempts you; It's what's already inside of you that's hungry for it. Everyone has a different appetite. Eve wanted the forbidden fruit. Sex, drugs, pornography, money, eating, drinking, and a million other things are not the root of our problems. The problem is that the fish is hungry for it.

For example, money is not evil, but the "love of money" is. That's the insatiable desire for more of it. Anyone who has been addicted to something can confirm this "longing for more." God can take away our bad desires. At one time, I enjoyed smoking. Now, smoke makes me nauseous, and it's no longer a temptation for me to be around it.

If you are drawn to something destructive, pray for the Lord to take away the desire and deliver you from it. When the hunger is gone, it will no longer tempt you, even when it appears right in front of you, like a lure before a fish. If the fish isn't hungry, they won't go after the bait.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please remove the desires from me that are not right and deliver me from things that drag me down. I want to serve You with my whole heart, but there are things in me that don't. Deliver me from them! Make Your desires become mine. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: Today is Thankful Thursday at the Ministry Events group! This event gives us an opportunity encourage each other by posting thoughts, moments, and prayers of gratitude for Him, His creation and all that He does in our lives. All our welcome! To join, just click on the group name and then the join link on the page that will follow. As always, if you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network.