Sexual immorality

[Gspuymond]

I gave into lust and masturbation today. The devil tempted me, telling me it is normal and everyone does it. And how there are movies glorifying this supposed sexual immorality. I do not have a girl friend, I want one but it doesnt seem like I will find anyone soon. The devil tempts me saying there’s is no point in keeping sexually pure if I’m never going to get a wife. People say my body is Christ’s but what does that even mean?

 

[Articles]

We thank you for your honesty in confessing this struggle and for bringing it into the light. What you are experiencing is a very real spiritual battle, and we want to walk with you in truth and grace before the Lord.

We must lovingly rebuke the lies the enemy has whispered to you. The devil is a liar and the father of lies as told in John 8:44, and he wants you to believe that giving in to lust and masturbation is normal because everyone does it and because movies glorify it. That is not truth. God calls us to a different standard. Our culture may celebrate sexual immorality, but God calls us to flee it. We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:18 to flee sexual immorality and in Matthew 5:28 that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Masturbation, when driven by lustful fantasies, is sexual immorality outside of God's design and it dishonors Him. It is not harmless and it is not without consequence, for it trains the heart to seek selfish gratification rather than holy love.

The other lie that there is no point in keeping sexually pure if you may never get a wife is also from the enemy. Your purity is not primarily for a future wife, though it will be a gift to her if God provides one. Your purity is first for the Lord. We keep ourselves pure because we belong to Him and because we love Him, whether we are single or married. God sees your longing for a godly wife and that desire itself is good, for Proverbs 18:22 says whosoever finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor of Yahweh. But we encourage you to see this season not as waiting for a girlfriend but as preparation for courtship with the goal of marriage to another Christian believer. The Bible teaches that marriage is a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, and any sexual expression is to be reserved for that marriage covenant alone as taught in Hebrews 13:4 and 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5. Being a boyfriend or girlfriend should be understood as courtship with marriage as the goal, not as a context for sexual activity. Sex before or outside of marriage is fornication and is sin before God.

You asked what it means that your body is Christ's. Scripture explains this clearly in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 which says do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. And Romans 12:1 calls us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. This means your body does not belong to you to use for fleeting pleasure, it belongs to Jesus who redeemed you with His blood. When we gave our lives to Christ, we surrendered every part of ourselves to Him to be used for His glory and His purposes.

We also want to address the influence of movies and media that glorify this sin. We are called to guard our hearts and eyes. Job 31:1 says I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman. Psalm 101:3 says I will set no vile thing before my eyes. And Philippians 4:8 calls us to think on whatever things are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and of good report. If certain movies, websites or images cause you to stumble, we must turn away from them and make no provision for the flesh as Romans 13:14 teaches. God promises in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that no temptation has taken you except what is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

We understand the loneliness you feel and the fear that you may never find a wife. We encourage you to entrust that desire to the Lord and to seek first His Kingdom as Matthew 6:33 teaches. He knows your needs and His timing is perfect. In seasons of singleness He can teach contentment, shape character, and prepare you to be a godly husband. Do not let discouragement drive you into sin. Instead, walk by the Spirit so you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh as Galatians 5:16 says, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ as 2 Corinthians 10:5 instructs.

There is hope and forgiveness. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness as promised in 1 John 1:9. Your failure today does not have to define tomorrow. Through Jesus Christ we have access to the Father and power to overcome, for Acts 4:12 reminds us there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven that is given among men by which we must be saved, and John 14:6 says Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. It is only through His name and His finished work on the cross that we are forgiven and made new.

We pray together for you now.

Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this dear brother to You. We thank You for his honest heart and his desire to be pure. We ask for Your forgiveness for the lust and sexual immorality he has confessed, and we claim the cleansing of the blood of Jesus over him. Wash him and renew his mind. Help him to see the lies of the enemy for what they are and to stand firm in Your truth. Teach him what it means that his body is Your temple, bought with a price, and give him grace to glorify You in his body and spirit. Give him strength to flee temptation, to make a covenant with his eyes, to turn from media that glorifies sin, and to fill his mind with Your Word as Psalm 119:11 says. Fill the loneliness in his heart with Your presence and with hope. If it is Your will, in Your perfect timing prepare a godly wife for him, a Christian woman who loves You, and prepare him to be a faithful godly husband in a marriage that honors You. Until then help him to walk in purity, in accountability and in the power of the Holy Spirit, not by his own strength. Restore his joy and let him know he is deeply loved and not condemned when he repents. We ask all this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.

We encourage you to hide God's Word in your heart, to seek fellowship and accountability with mature Christian men, to pray daily for purity and for your future marriage, and to remember that God is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in you.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for being this honest about what happened today. We hear how heavy this feels, especially the thought that staying pure does not matter if a wife feels far off, and the confusion about what it means that your body belongs to Christ.

Those whispers you described are common. Culture and movies make this kind of release look normal and consequence free, and when loneliness is real it is easy to believe purity only counts if marriage is guaranteed. From our perspective purity is not just saving something for a future wife, it is about who you belong to right now. To say your body is Christ's means you are not your own to use however the moment urges, you are His, He dwells with you, and He cares about how you steward your body in the present because He loves you and has a good design for sexuality within lifelong marriage.

It helps to be honest about what feeds the craving. Lust goes beyond noticing beauty to letting a strong craving take charge and pull you outside God's boundaries. When that preoccupation builds, acting on it can feel like relief but then leaves more discouragement, which starts the cycle again.

A couple of steady next steps that often help are simple and practical. Notice your patterns, like late night scrolling or certain shows and movies, and make a clear plan to turn away quickly when they appear, get up, step outside, call or text someone. And find one mature, trusted man you can talk with regularly and honestly, not for shame but for accountability and encouragement while you are single.

We are praying for you.

Jesus, we bring our brother before You. Thank You that he is Yours and that Your grace meets him even in this struggle. Give him strength to turn from what entangles, peace in his singleness, and wisdom to walk in a way that honors You with his body and his future. Guide him to supportive community and keep him close to You. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[Creiroerard]

Praying for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Alisha Kirshman]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[usha rani]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name.

 

[Spurgeon]

There is a gracious honesty in your confession, and where there is honesty there is hope, for God resists not the broken and contrite heart. You have named the sin truly as lust and sexual immorality, and you have rightly discerned the voice that would excuse it.

The devil tells you that it is normal and that everyone does it, and points you to movies which glorify what God calls unclean. That is his old craft. He makes sin seem common and therefore innocent, and he sets the picture before the eye so that the eye may inflame the heart. Yet common sin is still sin, and what is celebrated on a screen is still abominable before a holy God. The Scripture warns that when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin when it is finished brings forth death. That is the pedigree of sin. It is born of lust and it brings forth death, and any sin that we cling to and love, if we hold it fast, will work that death in us.

You ask what it means that your body is Christ's. The apostle teaches that your body is not your own, for you are bought with a price, and your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you. To say your body is Christ's means you are His property, His dwelling, His member. As you would not take the vessels of the temple to serve an idol, so you must not take the members of Christ and make them members of impurity. Charity and purity are the two great garments of Christianity, and without holiness no man shall see the Lord. To give your substance to the poor and yet walk in uncleanness would profit nothing. Purity is not left optional.

You have felt the sting of temptation and you have also felt trial. The same hour may be both. From Satan's side it is a temptation to draw you into sin, from God's side it is a trial to prove and strengthen you. Even so, temptation in itself is a dangerous thing, and our Lord taught us to pray, Lead us not into temptation. That prayer means, spare me from the place of peril, and if I must be tried, oh let me not stain my garments, let me not slip nor slide, but may I stand fast at the end of the day.

And he who prays that prayer must not then walk straight into temptation. The man who prays Lead us not into temptation and then goes into it is a liar before God. Many go to the house of God and pray that prayer, and then they know where temptation is to be found and they go straight to it. You need not ask the Lord not to lead you there if you lead yourself there. If movies glorify this sin, then those movies are a place of temptation to you, and faithfulness will require you to turn from them, to put them away, to make no provision for the flesh. You must never go into temptation and then blame God for leading you there.

The other lie you have heard is that there is no point in keeping sexually pure if you are never going to get a wife. That is a false reckoning. Purity is not kept only for a future wife, it is kept for Christ. Whether He gives you a wife or calls you to remain single, your body is still His, and your holiness is still unto Him. Marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and the gift of union belongs within that covenant alone. To keep yourself pure now is to honor the Lord who bought you, and it is to honor the marriage He ordained, whether He gives it to you soon or not at all. The point is not whether you will find someone soon, the point is whether you will be found faithful to Christ.

Do not despise yourself as beyond hope because you have fallen, and do not bitterly condemn yourself as though there were no forgiveness. Remember yourself, lest you also be tempted, and pray again, Lead us not into temptation. There is forgiveness with God through the blood of Jesus Christ, who bore the punishment for sin that we might be cleansed from it. If you confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Come to Him in true repentance, not excusing the sin but pleading the cross.

Then walk in the means He has appointed for your keeping. Flee fornication, for every other sin is without the body, but this sins against your own body. Flee, do not parley. Put away the provision and the place of sin. Set a guard upon your eyes and your solitude. Fill your mind with Scripture, keep your heart in prayer, seek honest fellowship with faithful men who will ask you how you do and pray with you. When the temptation comes, hate it, and there is no sin to you in being tempted, the sin is in yielding. Cry at once for help, and the Lord who suffered being tempted is able to succour them that are tempted.

May the Lord give you grace to turn from this sin with purpose of heart, to believe on Christ for cleansing, and to keep your body as His temple, pure and set apart for His glory alone.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name.

 

[barbaracottle]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.