Dealing with lustful thoughts

[Shining Brightly]

Hi ladies, this is something I am trying to deal with biblically and is usually confined to men's issues. But I'm sure we women have to deal with this too. I wondered if any of you have advice on how you tackle this biblically and overcome. I find it difficult at times but I want to be pure in my thoughts. I sometimes have lustful dreams and wake up with these images in my head which I would like to get rid of. Any help would be much appreciated. It's not something I feel I can speak to a friend about just yet. So appreciate your help.

[SaintTexas]

Hi there. What a wonderful question. I love how the Lord wants to touch our thought life and make it pure.

I will just point you right to 1 Corinthians where Paul tells us, "10 Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 2 But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled."

It matters not what our thoughts are but that they are brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ so that the wrong ones can be corrected until our obedience is fulfilled.

I pray about things that I know are wrong in my heart and thought life, confessing to the Lord that I know I am wrong, ask for His forgiveness and His help. I believe that is why Paul admonishes us to pray without ceasing!

[IMSAVED]

I am sure that most women have dealt with these thoughts if they are honest.Pray to God to guard your mind and your heart.Satan is always trying to make us stumble and fall.Afterall we are only human

[Acts5:41]

Exercise.

Are you getting exercise? That helps a lot. It works for men, and women. After a good workout I doubt you'll have the energy to think about anything impure.

Also, ask God to help you take your thoughts captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

I'm assuming you're not married. If you are, the answer is easy.

[Veronica222]

You are not alone I know I had this problem. The way I stopped it, is like everyone else said pray, pray, pray, pray. When ever a thought like that enters my head I immediately pray for the Lord to remove these thoughts. It didn't happen over night but as I continued in prayer about this I was able to overcome and control my thoughts. Not that some don't sneak in, but it is not a problem like it was.

[Reason&Hope]

Shining Brightly, good on you for asking for help in this area. It's a tough one to bring up with friends.

A couple of things: Martin Luther said that it's okay for the occasional bird to fly over our heads, just don't build a nest for them.
In other words, dreams and thoughts will happen. I accidentally clicked on a link yesterday and well, still wondering why my protection software let it through.

A passage that I value a lot is Romans 12:2. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

There a lots of different things people can have obsessive thoughts about - sex, fear, envy, anger . . . I've found that when I get onto these trails that take me far off God's path, that I have to 1) decide before hand that I'm not going to think about that thing anymore, 2) ask for God's help, and 3) when I start to think about it, remind myself 'No, I'm not going on that path,' and ask again for help.

Sometimes God can steer us away instantly. Sometimes the path becomes so well-beaten, that it's very hard to get off of the bad path. In those cases, the victory might be more like 'I let myself think about it for a few minutes before stopping instead of all day,' etc.

One more thing: it's very difficult to not think of something; it's much easier to instead consciously think about something else. Sometimes physically getting up, turning on music or radio, or doing something else will help jar one's thoughts off the bad path.

I hope this helps, Shining Brightly.

[LightOfMyLife]

Be careful what you watch & listen to. I love these scriptures in Philippians 4:4-13

[ericaweb07]

I struggled with this area some and I agree with all of the above, especially about praying. Ask God to make you sensitive to the stuff that causes lustful thoughts. For me personally I had to turn off the TV. I used to enjoy watching "Friends", "Mike and Molly", "Big Bang Theory" stuff like that because they were funny. But the more I grew closer to God, the more I realized how desensitized I'd become to sex on tv. Let's face it, Hollywood is not on our side when it comes to entertainment. I also had to put away some of the books I read... not only were they causing me to have lustful thoughts but they were causing me to be angry and dissatisfied with my husband because he "wasnt romantic or considerate" like blah blah in the book I was reading. Stupid and immature and definitely not a Christian attitude...

Phil 4:8 (NKJV) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

[Shining Brightly]

Thank you so much for all your wonderful advice and prayers. I have been so blessed by it. What a wonderful sisterhood - God bless you all.