Temptation isn’t sin. That’s the first thing to understand. Being tempted is part of being human. Christ himself was tempted in the wilderness for forty days, and he never sinned. The difference between temptation and sin is consent, the moment when you stop being assaulted by a thought or desire and start entertaining it, feeding it, acting on it.
Orthodox Christianity sees temptation as a kind of spiritual diagnostic tool. It reveals what’s already inside you. The passions, those disordered habits of the heart like pride, anger, lust, greed, lie dormant until something provokes them. A temptation is that provocation. It shows you what needs healing.
Where Temptation Comes From
The Fathers talk about three sources: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Sometimes it’s the culture around you, the assumptions everyone makes about what matters. Sometimes it’s your own body and its appetites, which aren’t evil in themselves but can pull you away from God when they’re disordered. And sometimes it’s demonic, a direct spiritual assault. Most of the time it’s some combination of all three.
But here’s what Orthodox teaching insists: God permits temptations, but he doesn’t author them. St. James says it plainly, God can’t be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t tempt anyone. What happens instead is that God allows you to be tested. He lets the temptation come because struggling against it can heal you, humble you, show you how much you need him.
Fr. Steven Kostoff writes about Christ’s temptations in the wilderness on the OCA website. He points out that Jesus used the same weapons we have: prayer and fasting. Christ didn’t overcome those temptations because he was God and therefore immune. He overcame them as a man, using the spiritual tools given to all of us “in the ‘wilderness’ of a fallen world: to strengthen the ‘inner man’ against false and pretentious promises.”
The Language of Logismoi
The Greek Fathers use the word logismoi for the thoughts that assault you. It means something like “thought-movements”, those intrusive ideas that pop into your head uninvited. You’re sitting in church and suddenly you’re angry at your coworker. You’re praying and your mind wanders to something you want to buy. You’re trying to fast and all you can think about is barbecue. (Living in Southeast Texas doesn’t make that one easier.)
These aren’t random. The Fathers, especially St. John Climacus and the writers collected in the Philokalia, mapped out how these thoughts work. They come in patterns. They exploit your weaknesses. The devil knows where you’re vulnerable, and that’s where he’ll press.
But the Fathers also taught that you don’t have to argue with these thoughts. Don’t try to reason with them or figure out where they came from. That just gives them attention. Instead, you turn to prayer. You call on Christ.
The Jesus Prayer
This is where the Jesus Prayer becomes so practical. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” It’s short enough to repeat constantly. It reorients your heart. When a tempting thought comes, you don’t wrestle with it, you just start praying. The prayer displaces the thought. It reminds you who you are and whose you are.
The goal isn’t to white-knuckle your way through temptation by sheer willpower. The goal is to keep your attention on Christ. Vigilance, what the Fathers call nepsis, means watching your thoughts and turning back to God the moment you notice yourself drifting. It’s a skill you develop over time, usually with help from a spiritual father or mother who can guide you.
Temptation and Theosis
Here’s where the Orthodox understanding really differs from what most Protestants around here grew up hearing. Salvation isn’t a one-time decision. It’s a process of healing and transformation that lasts your whole life. We call it theosis, becoming by grace what God is by nature. And temptation is part of that process.
When you resist a temptation through prayer, fasting, confession, and the Eucharist, you’re not just avoiding sin. You’re being healed. The passion that was provoked gets weakened. Your heart gets reoriented. You become a little more free, a little more like Christ. The struggle itself, when you engage it with the tools the Church gives you, transforms you.
This is why Orthodox Christians don’t talk about “getting saved” in the past tense. We’re being saved. Right now. And every temptation you face is an opportunity for that saving work to go deeper.
Practical Response
So what do you actually do when you’re tempted? Recognize the thought for what it is. Don’t feed it. Turn to prayer immediately, the Jesus Prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, whatever brings you back to God. If the temptation persists, add fasting or some other ascetic discipline. Go to confession. Receive the Eucharist. Talk to your priest or a trusted spiritual guide. Avoid situations where you know you’ll be tempted if you can.
And when you fall, because you will, repent and get back up. The Church isn’t a museum for saints. It’s a hospital for sinners. Temptation reveals your sickness so Christ can heal you. That’s not comfortable, but it’s mercy.
If you want to go deeper into this, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware’s book The Orthodox Way has a beautiful chapter on prayer and the spiritual life that touches on all of this. And if you’re serious about learning to pray through temptation, talk to Fr. Michael after Liturgy. He can help you start a prayer rule that fits your life, shift work, kids, hurricanes, and all.
