Did God write a bunch of rules for no reason? Is He watching us to see if we are naughty? Or, is there a war going on? Is there a battle that we are supposed to be fighting in? If there is, then if I am sitting around watching P I am a deserter. God's army went off to war and I was not aware of it. There are people on this site, clean for 300 or 500 days commenting on threads and helping others. They know about the war and are "busy," fighting in it. A good prayer for this is, "Father, take away this spirit of lust and help me to care about souls." A good exercise to learn better "Purpose," habits, is to turn off the TV for a bit and read. If you have been having success in fighting P, the Purpose Driven Life is great. If you are struggling with P, What The Bible Says About Addiction is great for purpose and it is great for quitting. The only time I am completely free from temptation is when I say: "Jesus, I am going to do exactly what you want me to do today." Then I help others for a while and then go back to gaming or TV or something. I need a higher awareness of the war. Please pray for me.
Terrific insights. I think you are spot-on in your awareness and understanding. Keep taking the steps that lead toward Life, one day and one thought at a time. Onward!
You are spot on! Be aware that the enemy has a few weapons that he uses with great success. Doubt, Despair, Depression, these are all weapons in his arsenal. When you feel these emotions in yourself, recognize their source. Contrast these feelings with those you get after a conversation with Our Lord. Faith, Hope, Joy, Love. These are the weapons God brings to bear. Take up your shield and let's all join in prayer. Prayer for personal success and prayer for the success of each other in this battle for souls.
Part of the challenge is that finding our purpose is hard. We can spend a lot of time in prayer and read some great books and still be a bit confused. As a 59-year-old, what I have learned from the past is that I need to do something for Jesus now. Try something, help someone, get involved at the church. Talk to someone about how Christianity has helped me. I was at a family gathering and I was trying to be available if Jesus wanted me to do anything. But I am terrible at talking to people. But I was open to making one comment to steer the conversation towards following Christ. After one comment the guy I was talking to ran with it. One hour later I realized that we had talked nonstop about believing and obeying the Bible. Here is the thing. I am still no good at talking to people. But the truth is, the Holy Spirit wants people who are available, not people who are experts. The Holy Spirit wants people who think that being part of the battle is more important than their sin. Why does God want me to quit? He wants it so that I can be productive, find purpose, and over time, find fullness of joy.
Previously I had noticed at times when I wanted to spend time with His Word, praying or doing something productive that I when the urges would hit. It seemed the enemy was trying to throw me off from coming close to walking on the path that God had set for me. I want to be like apostle Paul where he reached a point in life where he knew that he had completed his mission for God and could contently leave earth if he had to.
I know exactly what you mean. Unfortunately, while we are on earth, where Christ can be found, satan is also not far away. However, you can take encouragement from this. Satan tempts those on the right path, the others are already his. Keep striving, you are on the right path.
Yesterday I started with a good focus on purpose and then I got off track with one of my other addictions. One reason why quitting P is so hard is because many things lead back to porn. Many things keep us from our purpose. I pray a lot to care about souls because I don't know which one of my many habits will tempt me today. Will I start the greed chase, the gaming chase, the success chase. Fill in the blank with what lures you. Or will I focus on treasures in heaven for a change? Often our other habits kill purpose just like P does. So we need to identify exactly what our #2 and #3 habits are and watch how they lead back to P and how they keep us from our purpose. Next we pray and fight to remove these habits. For example, anger. We get mad, that leads to frustration, and we know what that leads to. So we pray: "Father, take away this spirit of anger and fill me with a Spirit of love." If we take our other habits and write a prayer to get them out, we can pray those prayers 5-10 times per day. Key point: The repetition is not what makes the prayer work. Jesus Christ plus our repentance and our sincerity to change give the prayers power. In conclusion, it is smart to invest in materials to help us find our purpose. But, above all we start praying about and trying to do it. It is just as important what we do, as it is what we stop doing.
You are right about anger, it is a prideful and selfish emotion that can lead to many mistakes. If you recognize this, you are on the right path. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:9 NIV
Today's top tip is to memorize the scriptures from the top 60 verses for quitting. Adam and Eve fell because the last person they listened to was satan. You will be building a firm foundation on a rock as you memorize these powerful scriptures. And as you quote them during times of temptation, the last person you will be listening to is God. Temptation is not from God. We fight temptation fiercely because sin is something that stands in opposition to everything that God desires. Sin is fighting against God. Lastly, fight all sin as if it will destroy you. If you slip up, confess that specific sin immediately to Jesus. #2 mourn that you committed it (have genuine sadness and sorrow for the act). #3 Turn away aggressively. #4 Ask for forgiveness. I am going to tell you a secret. I act like every sin is the plague. I act like following the Bible is the secret to happiness. The devil is going about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour us. Every time we fight sin he loses power. Every time we are in the Bible we gain power. A Christian filled with power will win. The link to the top 60 verses. https://forum.nofap.com/index.php?threads/the-1-way-to-fight-temptation.323359/
