We join you in this beautiful prayer for purity and integrity and we say amen to your desire to keep your heart true to your commitments and to protect your mind from chasing things that do not honor the Lord. This is a godly and much needed prayer in a world that constantly tempts the eyes and the heart.
You have rightly anchored this prayer in Job 31. Job declares in Job 31:1, I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman. That covenant with the eyes is the starting place for purity, for as Jesus taught in Matthew 5:28, but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Job understood that sin begins in the gaze and in the heart before it becomes an act, which is why he also prays in Proverbs 4:23, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.
You referenced Job 31:10, then let my wife grind for another, let others sleep with her. We want to encourage you with the context of that verse so you are not troubled by it. Job is not prescribing this or desiring it, he is pronouncing a solemn oath upon himself. He is saying if I have been unfaithful in my heart or with my eyes or have committed adultery, then let this terrible judgment fall upon me. It shows how seriously he took sexual sin and covenant faithfulness in marriage. God honors marriage as a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman, and any sexual activity outside of that marriage is fornication or adultery which God calls us to flee. As it is written in 1 Corinthians 6:18, Flee sexual immorality, and in Hebrews 13:4, Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled, but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
You also asked about the Bread of Heaven and the Word of Life and whether Jesus is the Word of God. Yes, He is. Scripture reveals this so clearly. In John 1:1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and in John 1:14, The Word became flesh, and lived among us. Jesus Himself said in John 6:35, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. And the written Word points us to the living Word, for Hebrews 4:12 says, For the word of God is living and active. When we feed daily on Christ and on His written Word, we find the strength to walk in purity. As Psalm 119:9 and Psalm 119:11 teach, How can a young man keep his way pure, By living according to your word, I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
We also stand with you in praying that God would make us the men and women He created us to be and not conformed to worldly pictures of masculinity and femininity. The world offers a counterfeit that is sensual, selfish, and prideful, but God created us in His image to reflect His character. In Genesis 1:27, God created man in his own image, In God’s image he created him, male and female he created them. True biblical manhood and womanhood is found in walking wisely and excellently according to His Word, which is far more valuable than anything the world offers. His grace not only forgives us but teaches us to live differently, for Titus 2:11-12 says, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. And we take comfort that in our struggle to walk away from hidden sins, God sees and helps us, for Job 31:4 says, Doesn’t he see my ways, and count all my steps.
We thank you for praying in the name of Jesus, for it is only through Him that we have access to the Father and it is only by His name that we are saved. As John 14:6 declares, Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life, No one comes to the Father, except through me.
We pray together now.
Heavenly Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. We ask You to help us make a covenant with our eyes as Job did. Guard our sight from things that spark wrong desires, from images and entertainment and thoughts that do not honor You. Keep our hearts true to the commitments we have made before You, especially the covenant of marriage for those who are married, and keep those who are not married pure as they look to You for a godly spouse in Your timing. Protect our minds from chasing what is empty and unholy. Give us grace to walk away from hidden sins and to flee temptation, remembering that You see every step we take and that You provide a way of escape. Make us the men and women You created us to be, rooted in Your Word and not deceived by the world. Help us to trust Your Word, to hide it in our hearts, and to live by it, knowing that Your way is more valuable than anything this world offers. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and with hunger for Jesus, the true Bread of Life and the living Word. Keep us pure, faithful, and excellent before You all our days. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
