Fighting Temptation预览

Changing Desires

A new movie came out, and I really wanted to see it.

The only problem was that I knew it contained inappropriate sexual material. I realized that if I went to see the movie, I would be giving in to temptation and sinning.

Usually, when I face a problem like this, I ask God to help me resist temptation.

But this time, I prayed for something different. I prayed that He would change my desires so that I didn't even want to see the movie. I asked Him to remove my desire for sin.

A few days later, I realized He had done just that. I wasn't struggling with the temptation to see the movie anymore; in fact, the thought of it repulsed me.

God doesn't always remove our temptations, but I think it's a good prayer for men to pray. Don't just ask God to help you resist temptation; ask Him to change your desires.

I think that's what the Bible means when it says that God will give us the desires of our hearts.

It's not that God will give us anything we want; it's even better than that.

It's that God will change what we want. He'll fix our “wanters.” He'll change what we desire so that it is in line with God’s desires for us.

God doesn’t just change our behaviors; He fixes and transforms our hearts and our wants.

Best of all, He will change us so we want more of Him.

This is what the process of becoming godlier looks like. When we become Christians and begin to delight in God, we not only learn to resist temptation but also begin to desire differently.

We'll never be completely free from temptation until after the resurrection, but we can ask God to change our desires now.

Over time, He will do just that so that we desire sin less and obedience more.

Pray that God doesn’t just allow you to be a man who resists temptation. Pray for Him to change your desires from within.

Prayer: Lord, change my desires! Make me a man who is after Your own heart. Amen.

Reflection: How have you seen God change your desires over time? What desires need to be changed?