The phrase “not possible” is by far the most paralyzing lie lust has in its arsenal. The lie, “it’s not possible to be lust-free” is quite simple, but its impact can have decades of results.
When you believe this lie at your core, your ability and motivation to fight lust decreases. The decrease is so drastic, you are almost positioned to be a casualty of this war. You become like the baby elephant chained to a peg in the ground. Over time, your ability to break the chain increases, but your motivation to break free decreases, keeping you in bondage. You believe the lie and therefore cannot change your life.
Heaven is lust free, and Jesus lived a lust-free life. Remember how Jesus didn’t lust after the prostitute who washed his feet (Luke 7:38)? He died so we, by the Holy Spirit, could absolutely live free from lust. It’s our birthright to live this way.
If you honestly believe the lie of “not possible,” you won’t try hard to live a lust-free life. But if you believe that it is not only possible, but it’s your right, then you can obtain this lifestyle and will fight to destroy the lust that wants to keep you from your inheritance in Christ.
Prayer is a very important weapon to have in your arsenal. Prayer has a way of bringing heaven and the atmosphere of the kingdom of God to you on earth.
Daily prayer is important for living a lust-free life. This prayer can be easy: “Jesus, I thank you for dying so I can be lust-free today.” Often men will choose to pray throughout the day to maintain the lifestyle they want to live. God will not withhold from you anything you regularly pray for that is in His will. Living lust-free is definitely in His will. Living lust-free is the way Jesus is currently living and wants us all to live.
The key to this is to pray desperately. Pray as if you need to be healed from a disease. This isn’t a place to passively come to God for restoration. Be aggressive. Pursue God for His promise of a lust-free heart and mind to become your possession. Ask and beg Him to make the changes in your heart and mind so you can truly live free from lust. Finally, ask for faith to believe that today you can have minutes, hours and even the entire day to be lust-free.
I find praying the first thing in the morning sets the tone for the day. Regardless of when you pray, pray daily to God. He loves you and wants you to be free even more than you do.
When you pray for someone, you automatically make them a person. They stop being the object you have spent time lusting after. I had the opportunity to be interviewed for a radio show not too long ago. The show was about a man who worked at a local college and how he struggled with lusting after college girls.
Women are beautiful. They are a divine creation of the Lord. If you find yourself starting to lust or objectify them, pray for them: “Lord, bless her husband or future husband, her dad, siblings, her children or future children. If she doesn’t know you, send her women who can tell her about you.”
Early in my own battle with lust, I found that when I prayed for women instead of lusting after them, I saw each one as a person—and even how God saw them. The prayers I prayed for them released on earth a petition for their souls.
Praying for these women gives you God’s eyes toward them. God’s thoughts are a definite antidote for lust. I was amazed at how opportunities to lust lessened when I started praying for them. {eoa}
Doug Weiss, Ph.D., is a nationally known author, speaker and licensed psychologist. He is the executive director of Heart to Heart Counseling Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the author of several books including Lust Free Living. You may contact Dr. Weiss via his website, drdougweiss.com or on his Facebook or by phone at 719-278-3708 or through email at [email protected].
