Porn-Free Thoughts

Control Thoughts (courtesy of Porn-Free Thoughts)
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Controlling our thoughts is perhaps the most difficult task of walking in freedom. Pornography is a powerful source of sinful images that our memory can easily recall. If you have been letting sexual fantasy run wild in your thoughts, you're probably wondering if its even possible to get control over the thoughts. What is impossible in our own strength is possible when we have the Holy Spirit helping us. Our responsibility is to work in partnership with the Holy Spirit to bring our thoughts into obedience to Jesus.
Brainwashing: Earlier in Freedom Journey we mentioned the problem of the memories that sex addiction causes. One of the challenges we face is to stop lusting over those memories. I have found it helpful to first ask God for help in washing the sinful memories out of my mind. A simple daily prayer to pray is:
"Father God, please wash my memory with the blood of Jesus and help me die to any sinful pleasure I have in it. Please forgive me for any sin I have committed in my thoughts. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."
The basis for this prayer is found in Hebrews 9:14 and Hebrews 10:22. These verses state that Christ’s blood cleanses our conscience from our sinful works so we can serve God. If I'm tempted to recall the memories each day, I then verbally apply the blood of Jesus to the memory. I say something like, "The blood of Jesus cleanses my mind from that memory." I often repeat this until the temptation subsides.
In addition to the problem of sinful memories, we have spiritual enemies (Ephesians 6:12) who are masters at tempting us in our thoughts (examples: Luke 4:5-6, Acts 5:3). These temptations cater to our minds' natural evil desires (Matthew 15:18-19). Satan's goal is to persuade us to engage our imaginations and lead us to sin.
The power of the imagination: Our imagination is a powerful gift from God. Imagination is a collection of focused thoughts that creates a reality in our mind. As we are made in God's likeness, our imagination is a scaled down version of God's imagination. God spoke the universe into existence from his imagination. Similarly, we can create things in our imaginations. For example, with one glimpse at a porn picture, I can imagine what it might be like to have sex with the person in the picture. Where the picture only gives me a visual impression, my imagination fills in the rest of the details: sounds, feelings, words, scenario, etc. Through such a fantasy, I commit sexual sin with the person in my mind (Matthew 5:28).
Satan has been baiting people's imaginations ever since the Garden of Eden. He enticed Eve to imagine having God-like knowledge. She wanted the knowledge, she liked the fruit's looks and she saw it was good for food. The combination of those factors motivated her to sin. Satan himself fell to sin by using his imagination to envision himself exalted like God. Satan said in his heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14 NIV). Satan was cast out of heaven as a result. Likewise, using our imaginations sinfully places an obstacle between us and God. Thankfully, we have the power to control our thoughts and honor God with them.