Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing your heart so honestly and for asking for prayer. God sees the difficulty you are walking through and He hears those who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
The strength you are asking for is not something you can work up on your own. Scripture describes God Himself as our rock, our refuge and our salvation. When you trust Him completely, He becomes your hiding place and the glory for any deliverance goes to Him. In a dry and difficult season the soul can learn to thirst for God Himself, because His loving kindness is better than life itself. He wants to bring you out of a wilderness experience and into a life of victory by His Spirit, which begins with dying to the old self centered life and being made new in Him.
Temptation is a part of life for every person. Even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. The temptation itself is not sin. Sin comes when we yield to the desire of the flesh and follow that path. In every temptation there is a decision to make, whether to walk according to the flesh or to walk according to the Spirit. Real strength is often shown not in giving in or getting even, but in having the opportunity to yield and choosing by the power of the Spirit not to. You will never reach a point in this life where temptation disappears, but you do not have to yield to it. By faith you can reckon the old life dead with Christ and alive to God, and choose the way of the Spirit.
Turning your life around is more than trying harder in your own energy. That is like trying to live a life pleasing to God in the strength of the flesh, which always falls short. God offers a new life. The old life governed by the flesh is buried with Christ, and as He was raised, you can be raised to walk in newness of life. That new life is governed by the Spirit and seeks the things above. It is a loving relationship with God, not just a legal one, made possible only through faith in Jesus Christ who alone gives us a righteous standing before God and the promise of eternal life. Relationship with God through Jesus must come first, and then prayer becomes effective because it flows from that relationship.
When God is at the center of your life, every other relationship begins to come into its proper order. People often try to find happiness and balance by fixing relationships or circumstances first, but if the center is not right, everything else stays out of balance. A content, rich and full life comes from fellowship with Him. Your life will then show what you believe, because faith is demonstrated when the works of your life come into harmony with what you declare you believe. Jesus said if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we will bear much fruit, and that fruit is the natural proof of that abiding. Without abiding, there is no lasting fruit.
That is why I want to pray for you in a way that seeks God's best for you. God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and He designed sexual intimacy and sharing a home as husband and wife to belong within that covenant. Happiness and freedom from harmful temptations are not found by asking God to bless any relationship as it is, but by bringing our lives and our relationships under His lordship and into harmony with His design. If you are living together outside of marriage, or if your partnership is not aligned with that design, true freedom will come as you both turn to Christ, deny the flesh, take up the cross to follow Him, and seek to honor Him with purity. Scripture also warns not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever, so it is vital that you both know Jesus personally and are seeking Him together. This may require difficult choices, repentance, and wise counsel from a faithful pastor who teaches the Bible.
I pray that God will draw you to Himself through Jesus Christ and give you a deep thirst for Him. I pray that He will be your strength and refuge today, that He will help you to choose the way of the Spirit in each temptation and not yield to the flesh, and that He will make your life fruitful as you abide in Christ. I pray that He will bring you into that victorious life where the old self is reckoned dead and Christ is your life, and that every relationship you have, including this partnership, will be brought into order as you put Him at the center. May He lead you both to repentance where needed, to purity, and to a future that honors Him, whether that means pursuing marriage according to His design or walking in obedience in another way He makes clear. May your actions come into harmony with your confession of faith so that your life is pleasing to Him. In Jesus name, amen.
The strength you are asking for is not something you can work up on your own. Scripture describes God Himself as our rock, our refuge and our salvation. When you trust Him completely, He becomes your hiding place and the glory for any deliverance goes to Him. In a dry and difficult season the soul can learn to thirst for God Himself, because His loving kindness is better than life itself. He wants to bring you out of a wilderness experience and into a life of victory by His Spirit, which begins with dying to the old self centered life and being made new in Him.
Temptation is a part of life for every person. Even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. The temptation itself is not sin. Sin comes when we yield to the desire of the flesh and follow that path. In every temptation there is a decision to make, whether to walk according to the flesh or to walk according to the Spirit. Real strength is often shown not in giving in or getting even, but in having the opportunity to yield and choosing by the power of the Spirit not to. You will never reach a point in this life where temptation disappears, but you do not have to yield to it. By faith you can reckon the old life dead with Christ and alive to God, and choose the way of the Spirit.
Turning your life around is more than trying harder in your own energy. That is like trying to live a life pleasing to God in the strength of the flesh, which always falls short. God offers a new life. The old life governed by the flesh is buried with Christ, and as He was raised, you can be raised to walk in newness of life. That new life is governed by the Spirit and seeks the things above. It is a loving relationship with God, not just a legal one, made possible only through faith in Jesus Christ who alone gives us a righteous standing before God and the promise of eternal life. Relationship with God through Jesus must come first, and then prayer becomes effective because it flows from that relationship.
When God is at the center of your life, every other relationship begins to come into its proper order. People often try to find happiness and balance by fixing relationships or circumstances first, but if the center is not right, everything else stays out of balance. A content, rich and full life comes from fellowship with Him. Your life will then show what you believe, because faith is demonstrated when the works of your life come into harmony with what you declare you believe. Jesus said if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we will bear much fruit, and that fruit is the natural proof of that abiding. Without abiding, there is no lasting fruit.
That is why I want to pray for you in a way that seeks God's best for you. God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and He designed sexual intimacy and sharing a home as husband and wife to belong within that covenant. Happiness and freedom from harmful temptations are not found by asking God to bless any relationship as it is, but by bringing our lives and our relationships under His lordship and into harmony with His design. If you are living together outside of marriage, or if your partnership is not aligned with that design, true freedom will come as you both turn to Christ, deny the flesh, take up the cross to follow Him, and seek to honor Him with purity. Scripture also warns not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever, so it is vital that you both know Jesus personally and are seeking Him together. This may require difficult choices, repentance, and wise counsel from a faithful pastor who teaches the Bible.
I pray that God will draw you to Himself through Jesus Christ and give you a deep thirst for Him. I pray that He will be your strength and refuge today, that He will help you to choose the way of the Spirit in each temptation and not yield to the flesh, and that He will make your life fruitful as you abide in Christ. I pray that He will bring you into that victorious life where the old self is reckoned dead and Christ is your life, and that every relationship you have, including this partnership, will be brought into order as you put Him at the center. May He lead you both to repentance where needed, to purity, and to a future that honors Him, whether that means pursuing marriage according to His design or walking in obedience in another way He makes clear. May your actions come into harmony with your confession of faith so that your life is pleasing to Him. In Jesus name, amen.
