Urgent prayer

[Chrysostom]

Your request for prayer has been heard and we are joining with you before the Lord in this difficult struggle. Thank you for honestly sharing what you are facing. The battle you describe with what your eyes have seen and the temptation that followed is real, and the attacks that make you question whether to hold on to faith are heavy. Please do not give up. God sees your struggle and He is near to help you.

Scripture tells us that no temptation has taken you except what is common to man, and God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear, but with the temptation He will also make the way of escape so that you may be able to endure it. That way of escape is found as you turn to Christ in repentance and faith and walk away from what tempts you. God does not leave you to fight alone. He gives patience and He brings deliverance.

We also pray for the peace you asked for. Jesus said, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you. This is not a peace that depends on circumstances, but a peace that surpasses all understanding and will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. When you feel overwhelmed, that peace can guard you and keep you firm in Him so that you do not fall away.

Like the woman who secretly came behind Jesus and touched His garment, confident that He could make her whole, you can come to Him now with that same confidence. He came for sinners and He receives all who come to Him with faith. And when doubts rise like wind on the water, remember Peter. He began to sink not because the wind was too strong, but because his faith wavered. Yet as soon as he cried out, Jesus took hold of him and lifted him up. In the same way, when you cry out to Jesus, He will take hold of you. Faith does not mean you will not face adverse things, but that you believe God is ordering all things for your good even in the trial, and you do not despair.

We are praying for you in this way:

Heavenly Father, we lift up this dear one to You in the name of Jesus Christ, the only way of salvation. Have mercy and forgive sins, cleanse what the eyes have seen and what the heart has struggled with. Grant true repentance and turn the heart fully toward You. Deliver from temptation and break its power. Provide the way of escape and give strength to take it, to guard the eyes and the heart and to walk in purity. Send Your peace that surpasses all understanding to guard heart and mind in Christ Jesus. When attacks come and faith feels weak, hold fast and strengthen faith, so that doubt does not cause sinking but trust in You remains firm. Help to not give up, but to endure and to hope in You. Restore joy, give assurance of Your forgiveness, and lead into a life that pleases You. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Do not remain alone in this fight. Keep coming to God in prayer, stay in His Word daily, and seek fellowship with faithful believers who can support you and help you stay accountable. If temptation comes again, turn immediately to Christ and flee from what leads you into sin. God is faithful to forgive, to cleanse, and to keep you as you trust in Him.

 

[Silas]

Your honesty in sharing this struggle is taken seriously and you are not alone in this kind of battle. What you describe, the eyes seeing what should not have been seen and then the pull of temptation, is common to all people. That does not make it small, but it means you are not singled out and you have not moved beyond the reach of God's grace.

Scripture presents temptation as a testing and a proving of faith. To say we believe is one thing, but the test shows what is real, because we can easily deceive ourselves. When faith is tested and proves true, that testing does a work in us. It develops patience, the ability to wait on God and to endure, which is a quality we all need and often lack. There is a blessing spoken over the person who endures under that testing, for when the trial has done its work it shows that faith is genuine.

That is why the heavy attacks and the questioning you feel do not necessarily mean your faith is false. They may be the very place where its reality is being revealed. A faith that is only spoken about is not enough. True faith, the kind that saves, is a gift of God received through trusting Jesus Christ alone, not by our own efforts, and yet if it is real it will show itself in how we live. It produces a changed life and corresponding actions. It is not passive. It becomes active in turning away from what harms us, in guarding what the eyes look upon, in seeking purity, and in walking in obedience. You show what you believe by what you do, and without that evidence that kind of faith is to be doubted.

You asked for peace and deliverance. Peace comes in a certain order. Grace comes first, then peace. You cannot know the peace of God until you have received and rested in the grace of God offered through Jesus. Forgiveness and righteousness are not earned by keeping the law or by trying harder after a failure. They are accounted to you when you put your trust in Christ, just as Abraham was counted righteous because he believed God. If you have turned to Christ, your standing before God rests on His grace, and from that grace peace can grow in your heart even while the struggle continues.

Understand also that having faith does not guarantee immediate deliverance from every hardship in the way we expect. Scripture shows that through the same faith some were delivered, they subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched fire and escaped the sword, while others with the same faith endured suffering and were not delivered in this life, looking to a better resurrection. Faith is not blind wishing. It sees more than what is visible, it sees the unseen promises of God, and it trusts Him whether He brings quick deliverance or calls us to endure through a longer battle. Both are part of the life of faith.

It is also true that even great men and women of faith have had lapses. Their failures did not mean God had abandoned them, but they learned to return, to hold to faith and to a good conscience. When that is set aside, faith can make shipwreck. So do not give up. To give up now would be to let the tempter rob you of what God is wanting to strengthen in you.

In practical terms, let your faith become active. Bring this openly to the Lord in confession without excuse and receive His forgiveness. Make decisive choices about what your eyes are allowed to see, putting distance between yourself and what tempts you. Seek supportive fellowship with mature believers who can pray with you and hold you accountable, stay in the Scriptures daily, and pray for the empowering of the Holy Spirit, which is received not by works but by hearing with faith. According to your faith, as you reach out to Christ, He meets you.

We are praying for you now, that God would grant you deliverance from this temptation, that He would guard your eyes and mind, that He would deepen your trust in Jesus and establish His grace firmly in your heart so that His peace, which passes understanding, will guard you. Hold fast to Christ. He who began this work of faith in you is able to keep you and to make that faith complete through obedience and endurance.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer concerning the struggle you shared about what your eyes have seen and the temptation you fell into.

We have continued to lift you up before the Lord, asking Him to grant you His peace and complete deliverance and to guard your heart and mind. We have been praying that God would turn your eyes from worthless things according to Psalm 119:37 and bring cleansing and renewal, that He would give you strength to stand against temptation for He is faithful and will provide a way out according to 1 Cor 10:13, and that His peace which surpasses all understanding would guard your heart according to Phil 4:7. We have also prayed that the attacks you described would be broken as you submit to God and resist the enemy according to James 4:7, and that your faith would be strengthened and restored as you fix your eyes on Jesus and do not give up, for He will never leave you nor forsake you.

We want you to know that we continue to stand with you and we do not want you to give up. The Lord sees your struggle and He is merciful and mighty to deliver and to bring peace.

If your request was answered and you have experienced peace and victory and deliverance, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered and you are still struggling and under attack and questioning, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer.

May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His son, Jesus Christ. We pray for your peace, protection, and deliverance in Jesus Name.