ENGAGE Prayer To Overcome Sexual Temptations|TIME for Spiritual Warfare

Life is both physical and spiritual.

The spiritual is more real and eternal than the physical that is temporary. But because all we know is the physical, we underestimate and undervalue the spiritual or the influence of the spiritual world yet it determines our victories and failures as Christians on earth and our destiny in eternity.

What does prayer have to do with sexual lust?

Let me remind you of the story of an amazing young man called Daniel.

He was exiled to Babylon as a teenager. Years later, King Darius decreed no prayer for thirty days except to himself. Daniel disobeyed the decree and prayed three times a day as was his habit.

The King threw him in the lion’s den though he didn’t want to because he liked Daniel. God shut the mouths of the lions and saved Daniel’s life. (Daniel 6)

It’s prayer and his intimate relationship with God that kept him through the years of captivity. He’d rather die than give up on prayer! It must have been his secret for succeeding in a foreign land where he served four Babylonian kings without a stain on his record.

Prayer is powerful and beneficial. It’s a channel through which we receive the divine enablement of God to live the holy life He has called us to live.

On our own, we can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Jesus tells us, “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (Matthew 26:41)

Isn’t it intriguing that Jesus engaged in prayer during His earthly ministry and continues to intercede on our behalf as He sits at the right hand of God? (Romans 8:34)

Even the Holy Spirit intercedes for us to God the Father too! (Romans 8:26-27)

What encourages me the most is that Jesus understands our struggles. “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

How does prayer help us to overcome sexual temptations?

When we pray;

– Our inner person grows in intimacy with our heavenly Father. The more we experience His love and learn to love Him, the easier it becomes to obey His commands. (John 14:15)

– We seek His mercy and ask for forgiveness for the sins we have committed in our thoughts, words and actions. (1 John 1:9)

– We ask for His grace, wisdom and strength to resist the devil and say no to sin. (Titus 2:12)

– We resist and fight against the evil spiritual forces that seek to lure us into sin. (Ephesians 6:12)

– We focus on strengthening our spirit and soul. Fasting can help us do this even better. We can fast from food, social media or entertainment for a while and allow our inner person to focus on God for spiritual strength and learn to control our physical appetites.

How To Pray God’s Way

Notice that prayer doesn’t start the moment we close our eyes and bow our heads. Prayer begins right from the time we awake in the morning!

Prayer is a lifestyle. So is spiritual warfare. Every minute you live, the spiritual battle rages on. The conversations you have and your daily conduct, either dress (arm) or undress (disarm) you for battle!

That’s why we enter prayer dressed in the armour of God. (Ephesians 6:10-20)

The belt of truth helps us to see the world from God’s perspective and to walk in truth before God and man.

The breastplate of righteousness protects our spirit and soul (inner person). We put on this vest when we receive the righteousness of Christ at salvation and as we live in obedience to God’s Word.

The boots of readiness come from the gospel of peace. This means we need the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding. That is His gift to believers. (Philippians 4:7) And we should be prepared to share this gospel of peace with non-believers and testify to them what the Lord has done in our lives.

The shield of faith extinguishes the flaming arrows of the evil one. Without faith, no one can please God. (Hebrews 11:6)

We show faith when we believe God will do what He says He will do even when we don’t see how or when. Take God at His Word no matter what you feel or see around you. Never doubt God’s love and promises to you!

The helmet of salvation signifies the protection we receive when we become children of God.

We have the sound mind of Christ because the Holy Spirit teaches us what the Father wants us to know. (1 Corinthians 2:16, John 15:15)

We renew our thoughts with scripture so we can know His will for our lives. (Romans 12:2)

The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.

As soldiers, God’s Word is our offensive weapon to dismantle the lies of the devil. Remember how the devil tempted Jesus and even quoted scriptures?

Jesus overcame each time by saying, “It is written…” (Matthew 4:1-11)

The Word does a spiritual surgical operation in our hearts and minds to cut off everything that exalts itself above the knowledge of God. An operation is bloody and unpleasant but it restores life.

The quantity of God’s Word you hide in your heart and obey will determine the quality and power of your prayers before God.

Because prayer is key:

#1: Set aside time to pray, worship, praise and read the Bible each day.

#2: Have days of fasting in a week or month from food or social media or certain TV shows or movies that waste precious time and use that time to draw closer to God.

#3: Join prayer fellowships. We learn to pray by praying with others.

#4: Start a prayer group if you’re not part of one.

Be sure of this; God hears and answers our prayers. Therefore, arise and pray. Build intimacy with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Check out our article on the 10 Conditions and 10 Hindrances Of Prayer|Not All Prayers Are Heard!

Thank you for reading this article. I welcome your comments and questions – as iron sharpens iron, let’s sharpen each other.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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