Each one of us faces temptations, no matter how long you have been following Christ. People all commit sins and that keeps troubling us, even though they may not openly show them to other people. To be honest, the devil is pretty good at finding the weakest spots and using them to seduce people. Be it sins of anger, sexual sin, pride, covetousness, etc.; People shouldn’t fret just because they are faced by such temptations any other day.
Before delving any further, it is crucial to understand the distinction between sin and temptation. Ideally, being tempted is the first step towards sinning. Sinning is prohibited in the Bible, but the same scriptures acknowledge that man is easy to get tempted. Even Jesus himself never sinned but faced almost every temptation known to man. (Heb. 4:15).
Therefore, this means that to battle sin, the first steps you need to take is by battling temptation. Here are some of the ways you can do that:
Pray as Jesus taught
While at the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples kept succumbing to sleep while Jesus was praying. Jesus then told them to “watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation” (Matt. 26:41).
Jesus acknowledged that a prayer to God would be the only possible solution to help them to avert temptation. Moreover, Jesus also taught us the Lord’s Prayer that God would “lead us not into temptation”.
There are different ways to get your prayer heard in heaven. You can say your own silent prayer, or you can get a group together and pray for each other. Another fantastic way is by asking trusted friends such as at https://www.planetshakers.com/ to pray for your protection from besetting sins.
Learn to recognize temptation
Temptations are, well, tempting – and really good at it. It presents you with something as pleasant or enticing. Once it finds you, you may want to give in since it pulls your desires and showing you that something seems good.
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1:14-16).
The biggest problem is that once presented with a temptation, it might be hard to recognize it at first as a sin. You should learn to recognize temptations when they come along by faithfully sitting under the teachings of the Word.
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” -Eph 6:13
Take preventative action
If you think that certain conditions or situations might force you to fall into temptation, therefore sinning, you are better off staying away from them. Just like Joseph resisted Potiphar’s wife as she was trying to seduce him, people should also run away from such conditions that make us face-off with temptations.
“She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.” -Gen 39:12
Confession
Acknowledging your temptations is one of the ways of overcoming them. It is recommended that you get a trustworthy colleague and confide in them. This helps to heal us and people can start again spiritually healthy.
“Therefore, confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” -James 5:16
Embrace the teachings of God
Filling our thoughts with the Word of God makes us ready to face off any temptations that may come our way.
“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” -Luke 11:28
Make the Word of God your weapon against any temptations that may come your way. Read the Bible and get teachings from the relevant places such as planetshakers.com and grow yourself spiritually.
