Please pray for me.

I am a 42 year old man who has a 20 year habit of viewing internet pornography and visiting "gentlemans clubs" (what an interesting name for such an awful place). I've been married for 11 years and have caused many emotional scars and financial issues in the family because of my problem. I am hurting and feeling terrible about the things I've done to hurt myself, my wife and our relationship.

To make a long story at least a little bit shorter, I'm determined to stop this time and I need all the prayer I can get. I saw a counselor yesterday, and we are going to get this done, but I know I can't get it done without God. I'm trying to pray for myself, but it's been so long, and the devil seems has a foothold.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and encouragement.

Dear Donald,

You will be in my prayers as you begin your journey to victory over porn addiction. James 5:16 says, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." We have no righteousness of our own, only Christ, the Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 33:16). We have become the righteousness of God in Him.

I encourage you to pray for yourself simply through giving this hurdle to the Lord so that He can win this victory for you. Speak to this mountain in the name of Jesus. devil is scared to death of what God has for you to do, so yes, he's trying to use porn as a stronghold. HOWEVER, as we read in 2 Cor. 10:4, "the weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."

God's blessings on you as you trust Him for this victory.

Loving Him,
><Linda>

I'm praying for you, Donald, but I want you to know I believe God has already given you victory over this addiction. The reason I say this, is because, while I read my email copy of your prayer request, II Cor 10:4-5 popped into my head. When I got here to answer you, Linda had already given you the same message. I don't believe in coincidence. God wants you to be doubly sure He's here for you. Take every thought to Jesus and He will free you.

Hi Donald,

I am much older than you are and have had the same problem for many years!

How I became addicted is not imprtant at this stage, although I would be prepared to tell my story if it meant that soemone out there could learn from it. What I want to concentrate it is the healing power that I receive on an ongoing basis from my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Each of the points that I am about to list below is based on how I have experienced the Lords healing power in my own life.

The first thing that you need to know is that Jesus loves you as you are. He understands better than any human the self-loathing and other negative effects that pornographic addiction brings. But He still loves you, even though He hates the sin. The thing to realize is that He died on the cross to deal with even the sin of pornographic addiction.

The second thing that you need to know is that healing is possible and will take place if you allow Jesus to heal you. One thing He has left enrirely up to us is freedom of choice. Jesus want us to choose His ways and not to be forced into following Him. True love and descipleship starts when we decide to accept
Jesus as our lord and saviour and then to continue on His path. Believe me when I say that every reconciliation with God and spiritual healing starts with a decision that each one of us must make to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and to submit to His kingship. From you posted request for prayer I believe that you have already made that decision.

The third thing that you need to know is that you must decide to break with your addiction. This may appear to be any easy decision to make, but will require that you willfully resist any temptation that will befall you in the future. I have found that resistance is very easy at times and very difficult at other times. If I focus my thoughts and life on the Lord Jesus, then I am less prone to fall. But when I focus on the cares of life and my own personal ambition, then to fall back into addiction is easier. By talking to a councillor you have already put into action the first steps to being healed. I tust that the counsellor is a chistian.

The fourth thing that you need to know is that confessing this addiction to Jesus is of utmost importance, and it sometimes helps to confess out loud. You don't have to do this in public but when you are alone. One thing that I have learnt is that confession is the start to the path of healing. If you fall back into the addiction, confess again. By saying this I am not implying that it OK to continue sinning as long as you confess. What I am trying to get across is that sincere confession shows that you really want to break from the addiction. And Jesus promises that He is just and failthfull to forgive them who confess their sin and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness.

The last thing I want to say is, live your life flat out for Jesus, in your home, your place of work, your business delaings, in whatever you do. And this you can only do by the power of the Holy Spirit. Put into action the good thoughts that He puts into your mind. Anything that would detract from glorifying Jesus as Lord and King is not from the spirit but from the flesh. Payerfully consider all aspects of your life. Reach out to others that are in the same predicament. Jesus can use your example to help others. And beleive you me, there are many of us that have this dark secret in our lives.

To end off I want to say that I understand something of what you are undergoing. I have suffered the same thing myself. Even though I have been healed, Satan tries to tell me that I heve not been healed, and yes, sometimes I have listened and have fallen again. But by the Grace of God (and only by that grace), the Lord has led me to confess and repent and to continue on the way He has set for me. But it is an ongoing battle and only with time will full healing come. You see, the choices I make can lead me back into temptation - I must decide what Jesus would want and not try to satisfy myself. Keep to the faith, love the Lord and continue on your way to fullness in Jesus.

I will pray for you and hope for a reponse from you if you want to give one.

Cecil.

Thanks Cecil.

I did have a problem with internet porn for quite a while, but I have no problem now because I know that even though it is enjoyable, it is wrong. I made a promise to God that I would never look at it again (by myself, out of choice). Have never looked back since that time. See I made all sorts of reasons to justify it, but in the end, I have to accept that what God says is right, and that my own impulses and needs can be wrong.

Donald, the reason I will never look again, is that it I made a promise to God about it, I am very fearful of ever going back on that promise, and also I do not want to go back on my word. I think you could say that I am cured. Even if I was completely ugly, had no wife or family(which incedentilly, I do not) and bound to a room with a computer for the rest of my earthly life, I would not.

Cecil, what I really liked about what you wrote was that bit about anything that we do that is not for the Lord, is not spiritual. That was a real eye-opener. Thankyou for that. To be completely spiritual is what we must strive for, Romans 8 deals with this. I think we would be much happier if we were not in the flesh all the time. The nature of the flesh is our enemy now, in that we cannot please God if we live in it.

Still, I find this concept difficult to understand, can anyone explain it furthur for me?

Regards,

Owen.

Hi Owen!
The word "flesh" comes from the original NT language as "sarx." The most literal translation would be "meat." The way it's often used in the New Testament, especially in the case of Romans 8, means "sinful nature." Every Christian battles against this "natural" tendency toward sin, to live in this new nature (new creature) of the spirit that Christ gives us. We don't intend to sin, but sometimes we do, anyway. When we do, we confess it to God and receive forgiveness and strength. I hope this helps you understand. What translation of Bible are you using?

Hi Glen.

I read yours and Chisolm's posting about America, that was some very intelligent conversation.

Also, the DEA thing with star7, it was very good of Ron to respond like that. I hope star will be alright, I'm sure they would be employing some scare tactics though, considering what star has told us about the incidents.

The version of the Bible I am using is the King James Version. That's what I have been brought up with, having done a bit of research, it is a good version to use, a very accurate translation.

It is hard to live in the new nature, it does go against our natural tendencies as you say.

So frequently you find yourself doing, saying or thinking the wrong thing, I'm surprised we get forgiveness. Happy though, just aware that I don't deserve it. I disappoint myself a lot, I can't imagine how bad I must look sometimes to God.

Owen

Hi Owen! As to the feeling of not deserving God's mercy and wondering how we look to Him...you and me, both. Even with my life committed to His service, I see the sinful nature taking over from time to time, and cry, as Paul did..."who can save me from this body of death?" Peter said the Law was impossible for anyone to keep. John was so convinced Christians couldn't avoid sin that he wrote the churches, telling them, "If anyone says he is without sin, he is a liar and the Truth is not in him." So, you and I are in good company. I think we'll be in real trouble if we ever get to the point that our sin doesn't matter to us...that we don't grieve over it. I've often said, it isn't where we've been, but where we're headed that counts. "I sinned yesterday, but, with the help of Christ, I'm not sining today."

As to Bible translations, I have a great respect for the KJV, having been brought up with it as the standard. Some things just aren't the same in modern English. It is very accurate, especially given that half the ancient manuscripts available today were not available then, like the Dead Sea Scrolls. The only problem with it, is it's so hard to understand. So, I've come to rely on the NIV for my study and reading. Having studied Greek and translated much of the New Testament from the original language, I can assure you the NIV is as accurate as the KJV, only easier to understand. For instance, the KJV word "flesh" is translated "sinful nature" in Romans 8, because that's the most sensible explanation of his use of the word. Everyone knows the meat of your body can't make you sin...he was getting at something deeper. The NIV also gives you footnotes which inform you when there is disagreement as to what the correct translation of a particular passage is.
I appreciate a group of scholars who are big enough to admit theirs is not the only possible interpretation. That's too rare in this world. I've met people who will tell you a particular interpretation, like the KJV, is the Word of God and the others are the work of the devil to try and confuse you. No, the NIV, KJV, NASB and the thousands of other translations are just that...translations of God's Word. All of them contain minor errors. The NASB is the more literal, word-for-word translation, but the KJV and the NIV have tried to get more of the meaning of the words. All three are highly reliable. Some versions...produced by cults...are purposeful mis-translations.

Hi Glen.

The NIV sounds like a good version also, I would certainly appreciate the footnotes.

I have read some of the NASB version as well, it seems pretty good also.

The purposeful mistranslations I have never read to date, and am glad about that. There's God's Word, and then there's additions. The early Christian manuscripts would be the most accurate, especially those that were around the apostles time. They were Jesus disciples, so they were the ones responsible for the setting up of the early churches, and communicating the gospel. Anything else in addition, is not to be trusted. In Revalation, John said not to add to these words.

I like you, agree that any translation can be easier, more modern etc... and as long as it is based on the original manuscripts it is fine.

The ages we are living in really are destructive, considering God's Word is being used to mislead people, and lead them into the placing their trust in deliberate misinterpretations, sometimes. Those kind of cults are bad news.

To donaldj:

I ran across this site and am glad I did. I amd 56 years old and can relate to your prayer request as I to struggle with addiction with internet pornography. Sometimes I go without weeks for the "urge" to look at it. However, I know the mercy and grace of God is helping me overcome it. Prayer, accountability and the word are great tools created by God to help those in need. Many are praying for me and I am greatful for these faithful prayer warriors. I suggest you find a men's accountablilty group as I have done as well. There is nothing so powerful as men praying to gether. As some posted "The prayer of a righteous man avails much. Or as some translations read. is "power and effective" (James 5:16). Of course this is true for women.

Don't let the enemy rob you of who you are in Christ. When I fall into the temptation there are always thoughts that I am not worthy of God's grace, mercy and love. That is a lie of the devil. God loves us for who we are. Afterall, He created us. The more trust and we place on Him and hold fast to His word the greater victory to over come this hellish addiction. Remember, "nothing can separate us from the love of God.."(Romans 8:39,39).

I will pray for you my brother as I ask the same of you and all the other brethren who frequent this site.

God bless,

Laoshir.