“Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy. May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And lead us out of temptation. Rescue us from the evil one.” Matthew 6: 9-13
Perhaps the most frustrating part of being a Christian is when you continue to sin. You keep struggling with the same mistake, over and over and over. You convince yourself to try a bit harder. You may even do well for a day or two. But then, when you aren’t paying attention, you slip up again.
Does this sound like you?
Here is some great news: you are not alone! In fact, every Christian is fighting the same battle with God’s help. And here is even better news: the fight to stop sin and live for Christ is a sign that you really do love God. Be encouraged! God is at work in you.
As you combat sin, here are a few tips straight from Jesus’ most famous prayer (often called “The Lord’s prayer.”)
Tip #1- Pray!
The road to getting rid of sin in your life is impossible… without God. But with Him, nothing is impossible. So call out to Him!
Pray for Forgiveness: Because of Jesus taking Christians' punishment at the cross, those who belong to Him are truly forgiven. You don’t need to fear, “My mistake was too big this time.” Jesus forgave you long before you were born. As God’s Word says, nothing in all creation can separate you from His love
“Us:” Throughout all of Jesus’ prayer, He uses the word “us.” “Us” implies more than one person. If you are struggling with a sin, ask someone or even several people to pray with you about this area to grow.
Pray for Rescue: God’s Word is clear that there is evil in this world, and that evil is stronger than any mere human. But no evil is stronger than God. He always has the victory. In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus asks, “Rescue us from the evil one.” He knows we cannot do this alone. Like Jesus, pray for deliverance from the evil one. Pray specifically about the sins you struggle with. Pray daily that you would have freedom. And just watch God do His wonders!
TRY IT NOW: Take five minutes and pray right now. Pray for forgiveness with the specific sin you are combating. Pray for deliverance from that sin. Text a friend(s) to pray with you! Or, if you don’t know what your struggles are, ask Jesus to open your eyes so you can see how to grow.
Tip #2- Location, Location, Location!
Imagine a health coach building her office right in the middle of a donut shop. That makes no sense. A health coach wouldn’t put herself in the center of temptation. Nor would she suggest any of her clients to hang out in a donut shop. Perhaps you think, “What if you have will power of steel?” But the truth is that people with the greatest self-control intentionally avoid places or things that could cause them to mess up. To avoid such locations is wisdom.
When Christians have a specific sin that they struggle with, they need to go the extra mile to avoid places, people, or things that they notice bring them down. Look at Jesus’ prayer. “Lead me out of temptation.” Jesus is expressing that temptation is a place to flee. If you want to have success over sin in your life, you need to passionately evade places where you know you struggle. This isn’t a sign of weakness. This is a sign of strength.
TRY IT NOW: Write down a list of the places you know you struggle. If you can’t think of any, remember the last few times you messed up, and ask yourself, “Where was I when I made this mistake?” Now write down a strategy to avoid going to that place. If it is impossible to not go there, write down a strategy so you don’t struggle when you are there. Pray for God to lead you out of temptation.
Tip #3- The Best Defense is a Good Offence!
You may not be a sports fan, but you have probably heard the saying, “The best defense is a good offence.” The quote is explaining, “If you are constantly getting all the points, you won’t be worrying about the other team getting all the points.”
Crazy enough, the same is true in the Christian life. If you are head-first pursuing Jesus in all you do, sin doesn’t stand a chance! What does that mean? Check out what Jesus says about this. “May Your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.” Head-first pursuing Jesus is doing His will with joy, eagerness, and excitement. Imagine the King of kings saying to His followers, “Who will do this assignment…” and you are jumping up and down exclaiming, “Me! Me! Me! I want to do it! Pick me!”
What is this assignment? God’s Word tells us that it is spending time with Him, spending time with other Christian brothers and sisters, and sharing Christ with those who don’t know. Truly this is the best assignment of all.
TRY IT NOW: Make a daily devotion plan, or choose a Youversion app devotion plan. Come out to Youth Haven to be surrounded by brothers and sister while sharing the Gospel. And find a church near you that you can go to regularly to grow!
BONUS TIP- Sin Breeds Sin
For some Christians, they feel like they are doing ok. Maybe this is you: "Sure- I fib now and again, but we all tell a white lie occasionally? Right?" you might say. Perhaps you would never say it aloud, but you think it inside your head: "Small sins like pride or gossip or listening to bad music.... they aren't that bad, right? What harm can they do?"
WRONG. Deathly wrong- spiritually speaking.
Sin breeds sin. Everything we do, say, and think matters. And there is no such thing as "little sins."
Remember, Adam and Eve just ate a piece of fruit, and it caused world chaos. Perhaps that is why it is called "the fall." It feels like slipping up. Very few people think, "I want to make a huge mistake and ruin my life today!" More often then not, sin starts with a seemingly small disobedience to God. And then another small step. And then another. And before you know it, your feel so far and distant from God. Big mistakes happen when we are being careless. So be on your guard. Don't let Satan even get one foot in the door in your life. Remember, disobeying God in "little" ways leads to disobeying God in "bigger" ways..
When you grow in Christ, your sin will dwindle. If you keep fighting with God’s help, there will be victory! But remember, it does take time, and unfortunately, we won’t be perfect until the day we meet Jesus face to face. So we look forward to Jesus returning, and with Him we pray, “May Your Kingdom come soon!”
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