Conquering and Coping with Lust, Sexual Immorality and Masturbation

[Chrysostom]

Your open and honest prayer before the Lord is precious, and God hears those who come to Him with a humble and repentant heart. Thank you for bringing every burden into the light, not trying to fight alone. The struggles you named are real, and the desire you expressed to walk in purity, self control and freedom is pleasing to God.

Scripture teaches that sexual intimacy is a gift designed by God to be enjoyed within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and that all sexual activity outside of that covenant, including lust, sexual immorality and masturbation, falls short of His good design. God does not bless what He calls us to turn from, but He does fully forgive and cleanse those who confess their sin and turn to Jesus Christ. Through Christ alone we have forgiveness, mercy and a new power to live differently. When you confess, He is faithful to forgive and to renew your mind, so that shame and guilt no longer rule you, but repentance, wisdom and purity can grow.

You asked for strength when temptation comes, and the Word gives a sure promise that no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but will provide the way of escape so that you can endure it. That way of escape is often a choice to pause, to pray, to turn away, to turn your eyes and thoughts elsewhere, to leave a situation, to open Scripture, to call a trusted brother or sister in Christ. The enemy often works by making a desire feel overwhelming and immediate, but God always keeps a door open for you to choose what is right. Learning to see that door and to walk through it is part of growing in self control.

Self control is not achieved through self hatred or punishment, but through love, patience and a genuine desire to grow. Virtue is not to be pursued as a heavy burden or only for a reward, but with a ready mind and joy, because it is good in itself and it makes us more like Christ. Tribulation and temptation, when endured with God, do not destroy us but can refine us. Many who have gone before us became stronger and more glorious through the very battles that tested them. Your battles with depression, anxiety, low self esteem and low confidence do not define your worth. Your life has value because you are made and loved by God, and your identity is secure in Christ, not in how you feel about yourself or how you look. When feelings of hopelessness, anger, hurt, fear or rejection rise, they are real, but they do not have to lead your actions. God can teach you to pause before you speak or act, to know when to speak and when to remain silent, when to act and when to wait, when to persevere and when to rest.

Surrendering your thoughts, body, desires, emotions, choices, relationships and future to Him each day is the right path. Ask Him to correct you when you are wrong, to strengthen you when you are weak, and to humble you when you lose your way. When you stumble, do not give up on yourself or believe that you are beyond redemption. A mistake does not mean you cannot change. Bring it quickly to the Lord, repent, learn, make a better choice, and continue moving forward. God brings peace to the anxious mind, hope to the discouraged heart and strength to the weary spirit, and He does not ask you to carry alone the burdens you were never meant to carry.

I pray for you now. Father, thank You for this heart that seeks You honestly. Forgive every sin that has been confessed and cleanse and renew this mind by Your mercy. Give strength to turn away in the moment of temptation and to choose purity. Bring freedom from shame and help this life to be ruled not by lust or impulse, but by Your Spirit. Bring peace where there is anxiety, hope where there is discouragement, and a true sense of worth rooted in Your love. Teach self control, restraint and wisdom, and help each day to be lived in dependence on You, growing in discipline through love and patience. When there is a fall, lift up again with assurance of Your forgiveness and help to keep moving forward. Transform from the inside out, that Your love would be evident in thoughts, words and actions. In the holy and precious name of Jesus, Amen.

Continue to walk with the Lord daily in prayer and in His Word, and seek fellowship with faithful believers who can encourage you and hold you accountable. If feelings of depression and anxiety remain heavy, please also reach out to a trusted pastor or counselor in your local church for ongoing support. You are not alone, and God is at work in you as you trust and follow Him.

 

[Silas]

Your honesty before God is precious, and God hears a prayer like this that comes from an open and surrendered heart. You have done the right thing in bringing every burden, weakness and struggle into His light, instead of trying to fight alone in your own strength.

Scripture teaches that the real battle is for the control of your mind and heart. God desires to lead and govern your life in love, while the enemy seeks to bring you under his power through deceit and force. That battle often comes through what the Bible describes as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These things are not from the Father, but from the world, and the world with its desires is passing away. Only the one who does the will of God will abide forever. Friendship with the world and its values puts us at odds with God, so He calls us to set our affections on Christ, in whom our life is hidden.

Lust is part of that worldly pull. James says that conflicts and struggles come from desires that war within us, and that a person is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. When that desire is entertained, it conceives and brings forth sin. It begins in the heart, in a look, in a thought that is not taken captive. That is why purity is guarded first in the heart, not just in outward actions. Do not lust after beauty in your heart, the Scriptures warn, but walk in a way that is fitting for saints, where sexual impurity is not even to be named among you. Outside of the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, sexual expression is not true love but an act of self centered desire, and Scripture warns plainly that those who give themselves over to living for such impurity are walking in darkness according to the course of this world, and will not inherit the kingdom of God apart from repentance. Because of these things the wrath of God comes upon disobedience.

It is important to know that lust can never be satisfied by being fed. The worst thing we can do with it is to feed it, because it will always demand more until it grows into something that masters and destroys us. The only cure is to starve it. Jesus said that if we will come after Him we must deny ourselves. That does not mean discipline through self hatred or punishment, but through love, patience and a genuine desire to grow. Victory often comes not by trying harder in the flesh, but by recognizing you have no control in that area and pleading for His help, and then discovering over time that God has given you strength where you once had none.

You mentioned struggles with masturbation and sexual thoughts. The Bible does not single out that specific practice by name, but it does speak clearly about lust, sexual impurity and impurity of mind, and it calls every believer to holiness, self control and a renewed mind. God wants to cleanse the heart and renew the thoughts, so that you are not ruled by shame or guilt but walk in repentance and freedom.

Part of that renewal involves guarding what you allow into your mind. Much of what fills our culture through media and entertainment plants seeds of adultery, greed and violence day after day, inflaming passions and then pressing people toward further compromise. When sensual desires are aroused, the pressure toward further sexual sin grows, and that sin always wounds families and relationships and brings bondage. Seeing this helps us understand why we must be intentional about what we look at and dwell on.

You also shared about depression, anxiety, low self esteem and feeling overwhelmed by emotions. Those feelings are real, and God does not despise you for having them, but they do not have to lead you. Learning self control means learning to pause before you speak or act, to know when to speak and when to be silent, when to act and when to wait. That restraint is part of the fruit of surrendering control to God. When you try to control everything yourself you grow weary, but there is peace in knowing that God is in control and that you can trust Him with your thoughts, your body, your emotions, your relationships and your future.

Prayer is central to this surrender, but its purpose is not to get God to do your will or to consume something upon your own desires. Prayer is to align your heart with His will and His kingdom, for His glory and for the good of others. God does answer prayer, and sometimes His answer is to withhold what we ask because He loves us and knows what is best. He is not your servant obligated to do your bidding. That He does anything for you is a sign of His tremendous grace, for you deserve nothing apart from Christ. Yet because of Jesus, you can come boldly and ask for mercy, forgiveness and strength, and He will give it.

When you stumble, do not give up or conclude that you are beyond redemption. A single fall does not define you. God corrects when you are wrong, strengthens when you are weak, and humbles you when you lose your way, all because He is transforming you from the inside out. Bring every temptation quickly to Him. When the pull comes, pause, turn away and choose what is right, remembering you always have the freedom to call upon Him rather than fight alone. Ask Him to help you see yourself through His love, to remind you that your life has value even when you feel hopeless, and to bring peace to your anxious mind and hope to your discouraged heart.

Continue to surrender each day, not in your own willpower alone but asking for His wisdom to guide you. As you starve what is of the world and feed what is of God through His Word, prayer and walking in purity, He will form in you a more thoughtful, peaceful and disciplined life that reflects Christ.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer concerning your struggle with lust, sexual immorality, masturbation and inappropriate thoughts and desires, and the burdens of depression, anxiety, low self esteem and low confidence.

We have been continuing to lift you before the Lord, asking for His forgiveness, cleansing and renewal of your mind, and for His strength to help you pause and turn away when temptation comes. We are praying that you will know freedom from shame and guilt and walk in repentance, wisdom, purity and self control, and that you will learn not to be ruled by temporary feelings and impulses but to grow in restraint, discipline and peace. We also bring before the Lord your battles with anxiety and hopelessness and ask Him to remind you of your value in Him, to give you compassion for yourself and to see yourself through His love, and to bring peace to your anxious mind and strength to your weary spirit.

We take comfort in what Scripture teaches, that God calls us to flee from sexual immorality as written in 1 Cor 6:18, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds as written in Rom 12:2, to walk by the Spirit so we will not gratify the desires of the flesh as written in Gal 5:16, and that His grace is sufficient for us and His power is made perfect in weakness as written in 2 Cor 12:9. We pray that He will create in you a pure heart as written in Psalm 51:10 and help you cast your anxieties on Him as written in Philip 4:6.

If your request was answered, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer. We are committed to continuing to stand with you, to intercede for your purity, your peace and your daily walk, and to trust God for your growth not through self hatred but through His love, patience and wisdom.

May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.

We pray in Jesus Name that the Lord will forgive you, cleanse your heart, renew your mind, guard your thoughts and body, teach you self control and restraint, calm your fears, lift your discouragement, and help you surrender every area of your life into His hands and trust Him day by day. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.