Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for opening your heart with such honesty. Your desire to be free from every trace of same sex attraction and from the effects of pornography, and your longing for a healthy marriage with a godly woman, are good desires that honor God.
The Lord who delivered people in the Scriptures is the same yesterday, today and forever. His power has not lessened. The same Jesus who commanded unclean spirits to leave and set people free still sets people free today. What He has done for you in bringing you to Himself is the beginning of that testimony David spoke of, when he said God lifted him out of a horrible pit and out of miry clay and set his feet upon a rock and established his steps. That is what God does. He does not just forgive, He delivers from bondage to sin through the sacrifice of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Just as God delivered His people from slavery, He delivers His people today from the slavery of sin.
A large part of that deliverance comes as you come to know the Scriptures and the power of God. Jesus said error comes when we do not know either one. Pornography trains the mind and the heart in a false way of seeing others, and it can leave strong and confusing impressions long after you have turned from it. The renewal of your mind will come through the Word of God washing your thinking, and through learning to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit day by day. This is why growth matters. It is possible to remain a babe in Christ, still needing only milk when God wants to feed you with solid food. Ask God to help you mature, to hunger for His Word, to turn quickly from what tempts you, and to fill your mind with what is pure and true.
God's design for marriage from the beginning is that a man and a woman become one. Two become one flesh, a deep and lifelong covenant unity. That oneness reflects something of God's own nature as one, yet a compound unity. Sex and living together belong inside that covenant of one man and one woman for life. Your longing for that kind of relationship is right, and it is good to bring that desire to God and trust His timing. You mentioned it may be a few years and that God has much He wants to work in you. That humility is wise. He who endures to the end will be saved, and God often works steadily over time to make us more like Christ. Speedy deliverance is a right prayer, and you should keep praying it. Do not think you should only pray once. Jesus Himself prayed the same words more than once, and God welcomes persistent prayer. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.
You are not alone in this. Whoever does the will of God belongs to the family of God, and that bond is deeper than any other human bond. When we share in Christ, we share one loaf in a spiritual sense, we are made one body in Him. Lean into that family. Walk openly with faithful believers who can encourage you, pray with you, and hold you accountable. Those who seek to live in a godly way in Christ will face struggle and opposition, but God uses that to strengthen endurance.
I will pray for you.
Father, thank you for this brother and for the work you have already done in bringing him from darkness into light and from death into life through Jesus Christ. Thank you that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and that your power to deliver has not changed. I ask that you remove every remaining homosexual feeling and attraction to the same sex, and heal every effect of pornography on his mind and heart. Wash his mind by your Word, renew his thoughts, and make his desires pure and whole according to your design. Guard his eyes and his heart, give him strength to flee temptation, and fill him with your Spirit. Prepare him to be a godly husband one day if it is your will, and prepare a godly wife for him in your perfect timing. Help him to endure, to grow from milk to maturity, and to walk faithfully in your will. Establish his feet upon the rock and make his steps steady. In the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away sin, amen.
The Lord who delivered people in the Scriptures is the same yesterday, today and forever. His power has not lessened. The same Jesus who commanded unclean spirits to leave and set people free still sets people free today. What He has done for you in bringing you to Himself is the beginning of that testimony David spoke of, when he said God lifted him out of a horrible pit and out of miry clay and set his feet upon a rock and established his steps. That is what God does. He does not just forgive, He delivers from bondage to sin through the sacrifice of the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Just as God delivered His people from slavery, He delivers His people today from the slavery of sin.
A large part of that deliverance comes as you come to know the Scriptures and the power of God. Jesus said error comes when we do not know either one. Pornography trains the mind and the heart in a false way of seeing others, and it can leave strong and confusing impressions long after you have turned from it. The renewal of your mind will come through the Word of God washing your thinking, and through learning to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit day by day. This is why growth matters. It is possible to remain a babe in Christ, still needing only milk when God wants to feed you with solid food. Ask God to help you mature, to hunger for His Word, to turn quickly from what tempts you, and to fill your mind with what is pure and true.
God's design for marriage from the beginning is that a man and a woman become one. Two become one flesh, a deep and lifelong covenant unity. That oneness reflects something of God's own nature as one, yet a compound unity. Sex and living together belong inside that covenant of one man and one woman for life. Your longing for that kind of relationship is right, and it is good to bring that desire to God and trust His timing. You mentioned it may be a few years and that God has much He wants to work in you. That humility is wise. He who endures to the end will be saved, and God often works steadily over time to make us more like Christ. Speedy deliverance is a right prayer, and you should keep praying it. Do not think you should only pray once. Jesus Himself prayed the same words more than once, and God welcomes persistent prayer. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.
You are not alone in this. Whoever does the will of God belongs to the family of God, and that bond is deeper than any other human bond. When we share in Christ, we share one loaf in a spiritual sense, we are made one body in Him. Lean into that family. Walk openly with faithful believers who can encourage you, pray with you, and hold you accountable. Those who seek to live in a godly way in Christ will face struggle and opposition, but God uses that to strengthen endurance.
I will pray for you.
Father, thank you for this brother and for the work you have already done in bringing him from darkness into light and from death into life through Jesus Christ. Thank you that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and that your power to deliver has not changed. I ask that you remove every remaining homosexual feeling and attraction to the same sex, and heal every effect of pornography on his mind and heart. Wash his mind by your Word, renew his thoughts, and make his desires pure and whole according to your design. Guard his eyes and his heart, give him strength to flee temptation, and fill him with your Spirit. Prepare him to be a godly husband one day if it is your will, and prepare a godly wife for him in your perfect timing. Help him to endure, to grow from milk to maturity, and to walk faithfully in your will. Establish his feet upon the rock and make his steps steady. In the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away sin, amen.
