200. The Lord combats for man in temptations.

The Lord alone combats for man in temptations, and man does not combat at all from himself (n. 1692, 8172, 8175, 8176, 8273). Man cannot by any means combat against evils and falsities from himself, because that would be to fight against all the hells, which the Lord alone can subdue and conquer (n. 1692). The hells fight against man, and the Lord for him (n. 8159). Man combats from truths and goods, thus from the knowledges and affections thereof which are with him; but it is not man who combats, but the Lord by them (n. 1661). Man thinks that the Lord is absent in temptations, because his prayers are not heard as they are when out of them, but nevertheless the Lord is then more present with him (n. 840). In temptations man ought to combat as from himself, and not to hang down his hands and expect immediate help; but nevertheless he ought to believe that it is from the Lord (n. 1712, 8179, 8969). Man cannot otherwise receive a heavenly proprium (n. 1937, 1947, 2882-2883, 2891). The quality of that proprium, that it is not man's, but the Lord's with him (n. 1937, 1917, 2882-2883, 2891, 8497).

Temptation is of no avail, and productive of no good, unless a man believes, at least after the temptations, that the Lord has fought and conquered for him (n. 8969). They who place merit in works, cannot combat against evils, because they combat from their own proprium, and do not permit the Lord to combat for them (n. 9978). They who believe they have merited heaven by their temptations, are with much difficulty saved (n. 2273).

The Lord does not tempt, but liberates, and leads to good (n. 2768). Temptations appear to be from the Divine, when yet they are not (n. 4299). In what sense the petition in the Lord's prayer, "Lead us not into temptations," is to be understood, from experience (n. 1875). The Lord does not concur in temptations by permitting them, according to the idea which man has of permission (n. 2768).

In every temptation there is freedom, although it does not appear so, but the freedom is interiorly with man from the Lord, and he therefore combats and is willing to conquer, and not to be conquered, which he would not do without freedom (n. 1937, 1947, ¹ 2881). The Lord effects this by means of the affection of truth and good impressed on the internal man, although the man does not know it (n. 5044). For all freedom is of affection or love, and according to its quality (n. 2870, 3158, 8987, 8990, 9585, 9591).

Poznámky pod čarou:

8179. 'Why do you cry to Me?' means that there is no need of intercession. This is clear from the meaning of 'crying to Jehovah' as interceding, that is, pleading for them to be delivered from temptation, and therefore the question 'Why do you cry to Me?' means, Why do you intercede when there is no need of intercession? And as there is no need of it the words 'Speak to the children of Israel, and let them travel on' immediately follow, meaning that the people will be given help, but that temptation will still go on until their preparation has been accomplished.

[2] With regard to there being no need of intercession, the situation is that when people are in the throes of temptation they usually stay their hands and resort solely to prayers, which they then pour forth feverishly, unaware that such prayers achieve nothing, but that they should battle against the falsities and evils which the hells introduce. The truths of faith are the means for fighting that battle, and they are of help because they strengthen the forms of good and the truths opposed to falsities and evils. In the conflicts brought by temptations furthermore a person should fight as if he did so in his own strength, yet he should acknowledge and believe that he does so in the Lord's, see above in 8176. If a person does not fight as if in his own strength he does not make his own the goodness and truth which flow in from the Lord by way of heaven. But when a person does fight as if in his own strength and yet believes that he does so in the Lord's, he does make those things his own. This gives him a new proprium or selfhood, called a heavenly proprium, which is a new will.

[3] Moreover people in the throes of temptation who take no action other than to send up prayers do not realize that if their temptation were terminated before running its full course their preparation for heaven would not be accomplished, and so they could not be saved. For this reason also little heed is paid to the prayers of those in the throes of temptation; for the Lord desires the end in view, which is the person's salvation. The Lord knows that end, but the person does not, and the Lord does not do what prayers ask for if that is contrary to the end, which is salvation. The truth of this also becomes more firmly established with the person who conquers in temptations; but one who does not conquer entertains doubts about God's help and power because he is not heard. Then sometimes, because he stays his hands, he gives in to a degree.

From all this one may see how to understand the explanation that there is no need of intercession, namely that one should not rely on prayer. For in prayer, when inspired by God, there is always the thought and belief that the Lord alone knows whether what is sought would be beneficial or not. Therefore the one who prays leaves the Lord to decide whether to listen to what he asks for, then accordingly pleads that the Lord's will may be done, not his own, in keeping with the Lord's words uttered in Gethsemane during His severest temptation, Matthew 26:39, 42, 44.