A Prayer Against Porn

Pornography is a struggle that men have been facing throughout the modern age. While lust is a sin that men have struggled with throughout history, pornography is a relatively new struggle that came along with the rise of technology. While technology is not inherently bad, since it has also helped us improve our daily lives, technology becomes a double-edged sword when used for evil. In that sense, pornography has become more easily accessible to men because of technology. That is why pornography is more of a struggle for men today. However, in Christ, we are not in bondage to sin anymore.

Heavenly Father, I thank You because in Christ, we are delivered from the bondage of sin, lust, and pornography. In Christ, we can leave our former habits of life and live a life of purity and godliness by Your grace. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

How Do We Fight Against Porn?

It is helpful for us to know how to fight against porn before we dive into praying against porn. If we know how to fight against porn, we will also know what to pray for. The first thing is to flee from any temptation. When we deal with an annoying person, we ought to be patient and restrain ourselves from unleashing our wrath toward that person. We are fighting our flesh and restraining ourselves. However, when it comes to temptations regarding lust, like pornography, the best thing to do is not to face and fight it but to run away from it. That is the very example Joseph showed us in (And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. Genesis 39:12). Potiphar’s wife tempted Joseph to sleep with her, but Joseph didn’t stay and fight the temptation; he fled the house.

We also fight against porn by knowing and meditating on the truth of God’s Word. If we want to cultivate a mind of Christ, then we must have our minds renewed by God’s Word, as written in Romans 12:2. It is also not in fighting and fleeing temptations that we are sanctified, but when we get into God’s Word, which is the truth. In (Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17), Jesus prays to the Father that we shall be sanctified in the truth of the Word. The Word of God is God-breathed and a sword, as written in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and (For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12), that we can use in our fight against temptation. So, what truths can we meditate upon that will help us?

 

First of all, we need to know that whatever temptations we encounter, they are never anything that we cannot overcome. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, it is written that God does not allow any temptation that we can never overcome by grace. Note that it never says God causes temptation, for God is faithful. That is why, if you encounter any temptation to watch porn, you do not have to fall into that temptation. You can overcome it by grace, and the best way to do that is by fleeing.

The second way is that we are satisfied by God. God is good, and in Him is the ultimate goodness. In Psalm 16:2, the psalmist, David, says that he has no good apart from God. It means that the ultimate good is found in God alone. We find many things in life to be good, like hanging out with friends, spending time with family, going on vacations, etc. They are good because there is an ultimate source that deems those things good: God. In other words, God is our highest goodness, in whom we find ultimate satisfaction.

The next one is from Romans 6:17-18, which tells us that from being slaves to sin, we are now slaves of righteousness. In Christ, the chains and powers of sin have already been broken. Sin does not have any power over us anymore. In Christ, we can say no to sin and leave our sins behind as we pursue righteousness and holiness. That also means that we must remind ourselves of the Gospel constantly. If we continue to remind ourselves of the grace and mercy of God in the person of Christ, the grace and mercy that God has shown us constrains us from sinning. As we meditate on that, we can therefore present our bodies as living sacrifices to God, as written in (I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1).

How Can We Pray Against porn?

Given all those truths, how can we pray against porn? We can pray against porn by praying to God to help us develop spiritual disciplines that will help us fight against porn and confess biblical truths in our prayers.

We should pray for God to help us develop spiritual disciplines, including praying, reading and meditating on the Word, and connecting with fellow brothers or sisters in the faith. This is important because we should present our concerns and prayer requests to God, as written in Philippians 4:6-7. The truth we should know about God can also be found only in the Bible. When we walk with fellow believers, where they get to correct and encourage us, it helps us in our own sanctification.

You can also pray by confessing biblical truths. For example, given some of the biblical truths we mentioned above, you can confess in your prayer that God is your ultimate good and that you are satisfied in Him alone. You can also confess that sin has no power over you and that you are a new creation who can say no to sin and live a godly life.

Father in heaven, help me always have the discipline of reading Your Word and meditating on those truths that will help me fight against porn. Remind me to always walk with my fellow brothers in Christ who will help me in this fight. May I always come to You in prayer and depend on You for grace rather than relying on my strength alone. Thank You because in Christ, I am already freed from sin and have the grace to say no to temptation. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Colossians 3:1-11 states that if we have been truly raised in Christ and are hidden in Him, we should set our minds on the things above, not on things here on earth. Being truly raised with Christ also means putting to death that which is earthly in us and putting on the new self, which means being renewed in knowledge after the image of God. In our battle against porn, we must always remember that our victory is all by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.