January 3
“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13
I was talking with a friend a few years ago, and he was relating a struggle he was having because he did not have any real desire to spend time with God in His word (the Bible), which is something we are commanded by God to do and every Christian needs to be doing regularly. He related that he reads the newspaper cover to cover, every day, but he just cannot seem to get into the habit of spending time in the scripture, and he had no desire to do so.
My response was to say, “I can imagine myself telling you just a few months ago that if you really wanted to overcome this, you could. But now I believe that even the desire to overcome temptation is a gift from Him.” And today I am convinced more than ever that even the desire to overcome temptation and live a victorious life is indeed a gift from Him, something that is not generated within me.
I used to be much more confident in my ability to overcome sin. Then God brought about trials and circumstances that humbled me in this regard, and I felt I was back to square one. I was even losing my desire to live the victorious life. I felt so defeated, so alone, so abandoned by God and those closest to me. Realizing that I was slipping in a serious way, I cried out to God and asked that He would put in me a very strong desire and determination to overcome. That He would bolster my resolve and make His resolve my own. I asked Him earnestly for the desire to do His will, and to take away my desire for sin. I cried out to Him to take away my double-mindedness and keep me from slipping back into sin, which I can so easily do. And I didn’t ask just once, but I began asking every single day and multiple times a day for this desire to overcome.
How can God resist such a prayer? We know that this is His will, and we know that He hears this prayer, and we know that He will grant this prayer. I think every Christian should be regularly asking God for a strong desire and determination to overcome temptation. I think that we should daily cry out to Him and ask Him to give us His resolve and to love righteousness and obedience. This is the beginning of making progress on changing ourselves and overcoming ensnaring sins: we need to be regularly praying for the desire and determination to overcome sin. Make this a prayer priority, and I believe you will make remarkable progress in overcoming temptation.