Battling Besetting Sins Part 4

685- Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 22:38 "I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. 39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet. We have been talking about getting victory over besetting sins. God gives us the power for victory but we must also cooperate with Him as David did. We must pursue them and not turn back until we get the victory. Keys to victory that we have discussed so far are confessing those specific sins, and repenting of them. Repentance is in reality an offensive weapon as with the help of God, you turn on your enemy seeking to live in accordance with the Word of God! Last time we added a couple of more keys. Memorizing Scripture, and becoming an active part of a Bible believing congregation. Today, let's talk about the weapon of prayer. Jesus reminded us of this weapon as He was wielding it in the Garden of Gethsemane. He said in Mt 26:41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Ain't that the truth!) Our spirit says, “I don't want to do this sin against God!” But our flesh is weak and often gives in to the temptation!) He also gave His church the gift of what we call the Lord's Prayer. In that prayer we specifically ask for help in dealing with our temptations to sin: Mt 6:13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. In this brief petition we are reminded that succumbing to temptation is living in the wrong kingdom. Our kingdom, the kingdom of God is the true kingdom, and we can tap into the power of that kingdom to overcome the devil and our besetting sins. I remember when I quit smoking. One of the tools that helped me was simply repeating the Lord's prayer every time I was tempted to light up. Sometimes I had to repeat it many times, but eventually it took my mind off the temptation and put it where it needed to be! So pray my brothers and sisters, and don't worry about the repetitive nature of the Lord's Prayer. These are words Jesus Himself gave us to pray. It's all part of the persistent asking, seeking, and knocking, that will help give you the victory over your besetting sins.