It’s difficult to be victorious. We tell ourselves repeatedly that we want out, but our words are mere dandelion puffs, blowing about in the weakest breeze. Without resolute manhood girding our words, nothing happens. Following are some action items to help you decisively choose victory in the arena of sexual purity.
—adapted from Every Man’s Battle
When we pray, we aren’t praying that He will decide to help us. He has already decided to help us. We are praying so that our hearts will change.
For what great nation is there who has a god so near to them as the Lord our God is to us in all things for which we call upon Him?
DEUTERONOMY 4:7, AMP
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
ROMANS 12:12, NIV
Pray then like this:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name …
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
MATTHEW 6:9,13, RSV
Garrett, a Bible college sophomore, said, “I used to get lustful thoughts popping up all the time during prayer. But now that my eyes are protected, it doesn’t happen, so prayer has become much deeper and uninterrupted.”
—adapted from Every Young Man’s Battle
Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly].
1 THESSALONIANS 5:17, AMP
Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers and remember to be thankful when they come.
COLOSSIANS 4:2, TLB
But you, dear friends … pray in the Holy Spirit.
JUDE 20, NIV
Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere.
EPHESIANS 6:18, TLB
What helps bring true intimacy with God quickly? Worship. We were created to worship. Worship and praise brings intimacy with the Lord and ushers us quickly into His presence.
Chuck Swindoll once mentioned on his Insight for Living radio broadcast that he never enters prayer without first entering worship. That’s a good place to start. You can memorize a few choruses and hymns and sing them softly to the Lord before beginning prayer.
—adapted from Every Young Man’s Battle
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
ROMANS 12:1, NASB
Yes, ascribe to the Lord
The glory due his name!
Bring an offering and come before him;
Worship the Lord when clothed with holiness!
1 CHRONICLES 16:29, TLB
Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
PSALM 95:6, NIV
Even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t be afraid and don’t worry. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
1 PETER 3:14–17, NLT
You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created everything,
and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.
REVELATION 4:11, NLT
You’ll need a good Bible verse to use as a sword and rallying point.
Just one? It may be useful to memorize several verses of Scripture about purity since they work to eventually transform and wash the mind. But in the cold-turkey, day-to-day fight against impurity, having several memory verses might be as cumbersome as strapping on a hundred-pound backpack to engage in hand-to-hand combat. That’s why we recommend a single “attack verse,” and we suggest the opening line of Job 31: “I [have] made a covenant with my eyes” [NIV].
When you fail and look longer than necessary at a hot babe, sharply say, “No, I’ve made a covenant with my eyes. I can’t do that!” When you’re tempted to let your gaze linger on a beautiful woman with a low-cut dress, say, “No, I’ve made a covenant with my eyes. I can’t do that!” This action will be a quick dagger to the heart of your enemy.
—adapted from Every Young Man’s Battle
And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword
of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.
EPHESIANS 6:17, TLB
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.
PSALM 119:105, NIV
Great peace have those who love Your law,
And nothing causes them to stumble.
PSALM 119:165, NKJV
Your words were found, and I ate them; and Your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart, for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.
JEREMIAH 15:16, AMP
For whatever God says to us is full of living power: it is sharper than the sharpest dagger, cutting swift and deep into our innermost thoughts and desires with all their parts, exposing us for what we really are.
HEBREWS 4:12, TLB
Your shield—a protective verse that you can reflect on and draw strength from even when you aren’t in the direct line of fire—may be even more important than your sword because it places temptation out of earshot. We suggest selecting this verse as your shield: “Flee from sexual immorality.… You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:18–20, NIV).
It also helps to repeat this when facing sensual images or thoughts: “I have no right to look at that or think about it. I haven’t the authority.”
—adapted from Every Young Man’s Battle
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
EPHESIANS 6:16, NIV