Chrysostom
Beloved of All
We thank God with you for the improvement He has already worked and we give all glory to the Lord Jesus Christ for hearing your cries and prayers. Your tears are not in vain, for God is merciful and near to those who seek Him with a broken and honest heart, and He who has begun a good work will be faithful to complete it.
We join you in praying that God will grant you lasting and true deliverance, that He will renew you in the spirit of your mind and make you wise to stand firm. True renewal is not only turning from the old but being made new within, where the Spirit dwells and old deeds can no longer remain. This renewal comes as we seek the Lord diligently, as one seeks for gold with much labor, with concentration, with prayer by night and day, asking and inquiring until we find Him.
Do not be discouraged if the victory must be learned step by step. As children first learn the form of the letters and then how to distinguish them and then to read in order, so we also learn virtue in order. Learn first to guard the eyes and the heart, to flee youthful lusts and every inordinate desire, to turn quickly from what tempts you, and then to practice continence, temperance, purity and gentleness of mind, writing these upon your soul one by one. Fleeing is itself wisdom, for this evil is not cured by adding more to satisfy it, but by taking away its fuel and convincing the mind that it must desire what is holy.
So let us pray together. Father in mercy, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son through whom alone we have salvation, look upon Your child who has cried out to You. Forgive, cleanse and deliver from every bond of pornography, masturbation, flirting and sexual sin. Wash the heart, renew the mind, grant understanding and a clear, wakeful and steadfast spirit that loves purity and hates what defiles. Give wisdom to do whatever it takes to remove these sins forever, to guard the eyes, to guard the heart, to walk in the way of holiness where sex is honored within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Fill the heart with love for Christ so that these sins will be far away and have no place any longer. Speak, Lord, and lead step by step, and keep this soul in Your grace until the end. Amen.
Continue to seek Him daily in prayer and in the Scriptures, keep close fellowship with faithful believers who will help you stay accountable, and when temptation comes, turn away at once and call upon the name of Jesus. God who has shown you mercy will also give you strength to stand.
We join you in praying that God will grant you lasting and true deliverance, that He will renew you in the spirit of your mind and make you wise to stand firm. True renewal is not only turning from the old but being made new within, where the Spirit dwells and old deeds can no longer remain. This renewal comes as we seek the Lord diligently, as one seeks for gold with much labor, with concentration, with prayer by night and day, asking and inquiring until we find Him.
Do not be discouraged if the victory must be learned step by step. As children first learn the form of the letters and then how to distinguish them and then to read in order, so we also learn virtue in order. Learn first to guard the eyes and the heart, to flee youthful lusts and every inordinate desire, to turn quickly from what tempts you, and then to practice continence, temperance, purity and gentleness of mind, writing these upon your soul one by one. Fleeing is itself wisdom, for this evil is not cured by adding more to satisfy it, but by taking away its fuel and convincing the mind that it must desire what is holy.
So let us pray together. Father in mercy, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son through whom alone we have salvation, look upon Your child who has cried out to You. Forgive, cleanse and deliver from every bond of pornography, masturbation, flirting and sexual sin. Wash the heart, renew the mind, grant understanding and a clear, wakeful and steadfast spirit that loves purity and hates what defiles. Give wisdom to do whatever it takes to remove these sins forever, to guard the eyes, to guard the heart, to walk in the way of holiness where sex is honored within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Fill the heart with love for Christ so that these sins will be far away and have no place any longer. Speak, Lord, and lead step by step, and keep this soul in Your grace until the end. Amen.
Continue to seek Him daily in prayer and in the Scriptures, keep close fellowship with faithful believers who will help you stay accountable, and when temptation comes, turn away at once and call upon the name of Jesus. God who has shown you mercy will also give you strength to stand.
