The night in which the Lord Jesus was captured, in the garden of Gethsemane, he said to his disciples:
Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
The Lord Jesus, gives his disciples a powerful weapon against the battle of temptation, that weapon is the "prayer".
In the battle against temptation, regardless of its type, prayer is a weapon that we can not do without. The purpose of temptation is to trap us away from God. Prayer, communion with God, is exactly the opposite: it keeps the channels of communication open with our Father. Oh, how much comfort and love come from the Father and how much support do those who resist the enemy find when they come to Him in prayer!
In Luke 22:40, the Word says:
"When he arrived at that place, he told them:" Pray that they will not be tempted. "
In Luke 22:46, the Word says:
"And he said to them:" Why do you sleep? Get up and pray that you do not enter into temptation. "
Temptation is described here as something in which the disciples could fall and for this the appropriate response would be prayer. Then, prayer and temptation are placed against each other. "Pray that they will not fall into temptation," said the Lord. Obviously, if they did not pray effectively, they would fall into temptation. Prayer, communion with God, keeping communication channels open and receiving from Him the courage and necessary support through prayer, is a shield of protection against temptation. That does not necessarily mean that temptation will not come, but what it surely means is that, when it arrives, it will find us unshakeable in faith instead of being ready to fall into its trap.