The Point of Purity Podcast

Episode 96 - Pray, Pray, Then Pray Some More!

October 13, 2022 Steve Etner Season 2 Episode 96
The Point of Purity Podcast
Episode 96 - Pray, Pray, Then Pray Some More!
Show Notes Transcript

We need to invite God to speak into our heart and be our teacher, our leader, and our God. God says (Jeremiah 29:12-13) “Call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

In this week’s episode we focus our attention on how prayer is an integral part of our pursuit of purity. So let’s learn how to pray, pray, and then pray some more!

Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at  http://www.thepuritycoach.com

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I need to ask your forgiveness for something I have neglected to do in these episodes. And that is to open with, and to lead us in PRAYER. We need to invite God to speak into our heart and be our teacher, our leader, and our God. God says (Jeremiah 29:12-13) “Call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Welcome to the Point of Purity Podcast. I’m your host, Steve Etner, Author, National Speaker, and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry. This is Episode #96, and in this week’s episode we focus our attention on how prayer is an integral part of our pursuit of purity. So let’s learn how to pray, pray, and then pray some more!

 

Let me take a moment here as we begin this episode and talk with my Heavenly Father – and I invite you to join with me in this important conversation.

“Father, we come before you right now and humbly acknowledge the fact that you and you alone are God. Forgive us for trying to usurp your throne. Help us as we endeavor to oust King Me and choose instead to allow you to be the Lord and Leader of every aspect of our life. So, we come to you right now asking in Jesus glorious name that you fill us with wisdom, equip us with your divine power, and lead us into a deeper understanding of your Word, your will, and your way.

In Jeremiah 33:3 God declares, “Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Is that not what we’re after? Do we not want (even need) God to show us the path to purity? A path we have struggled to find let alone travel along. Do we not need our Heavenly Father to give us wisdom, direction, guidance, and strength as we walk that path? Yes, yes, and again yes! That is why we so desperately need to be in a constant posture of prayer.

In Psalm 50:15 God says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” In Psalm 145:19 we read that God “fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.” I love what God says in Isaiah 65:24 “Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.”

Jesus promised (Matthew 7:7-8) that when you “ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” 

So, before reading your Bible each day, I challenge you to ask God to “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” (Psalm 25:4-5) I urge you to pray, “Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.” (Psalm 5:8) 

There is great value in beginning your daily devotions with prayer. In Psalm 27:11 David prays, “Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.” In Psalm 86:11 he prays, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” in Psalm 143:10 he prays, “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God!” We should follow his example. We should pray the words of Exodus 33:13 which says, “Please show me now your ways, that I may know you.”

You see, as we seek to be free from the grip of our three-headed dragon of lust, porn, and masturbation; as we seek to become men and women of purity, we desperately need the wisdom only God can give. We need Him to teach us His way. Consider this: for God to teach you, you must be teachable.  So here’s a question to think about: What is required for a student to be “teachable”?

James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” Are you a person who lacks wisdom? Are you struggling with understanding not just what to do but how to do it? Ask God! Yes, it’s that simple. “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17)

When someone is crying out for help, what is he or she acknowledging? Let me make this personal. What (right now) are you needing God’s help with? Psalm 145:18-19 promises us that “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.” 

The fact is: as we seek to be men and women of purity, we desperately need the wisdom only God can give. That Divine wisdom enables us to make a distinction between what is right and what is wrong, between good and evil. God is greatly pleased when we ask him for this. So, I urge you to go ahead and ask!

1 John 5:14-15 says, “This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” 

Jesus said (Mark 11:24) “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” And we read in Proverbs 2:3-6 that “If you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:3-6)

Let’s face it: Up to this point you have not known how to be free of the three-headed dragon. You have not known what steps to take to permanently stop your sexual impurity and be the man (or woman) God has called and equipped you to be. If you did, we wouldn’t be here. To have victory over your struggle with sexual impurity you desperately need the wisdom, the insight, and the understanding that only God can give. This is why, as you open your Bible every day to invest time with your Heavenly Father, I urge you to “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) This is why I encourage you to pray, pray, and then pray some more!

It is also critical that you continue this spirit of prayer throughout the week. You must daily “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) Without prayer you are vulnerable. Without prayer you are exposed. Without prayer you cannot be in fellowship with God.

Jesus made it abundantly clear: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) He also said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)

Now let me clarify something here. If you see prayer merely as a means of getting what you want, then you will inevitably be disappointed in what will appear to you to be unanswered prayer. However, if you understand that prayer is primarily an ongoing conversation with God, then you will begin to grasp the fact that there is no such thing as unanswered prayer.

Yes, God may not choose to do what you ask of Him when you want Him to, the way you want Him to, but if you see prayer as first and foremost an ongoing dialogue between you and your Heavenly Father, then His promise to always hear your heart should be the only answer you ever truly need.

Don’t let a day go by without coming before God’s throne, seeking first His kingdom in your heart, and His righteousness in your life. Only then will everything begin to fall into place (see Matthew 6:33).

 

OK, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode as we look forward to continuing this study. In next week’s episode we are going to focus our attention on how prayer is an important part of our purity.

If you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about our ministry, be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com.

One of the resources I would like to draw your attention to is what is called our “Point of Purity Program.” This is a 12-week study of God’s Word focused on equipping and training men and women how to overcome lust, porn addiction and masturbation. We are excited to announce to you that there are now two ways you can participate in the “Point of Purity Program.”

First is our 1-on-1 weekly sessions. I will meet with you personally for an hour each week for 12 weeks. This is not a small group or support group setting – this is just you and me sitting down together, walking through Scripture together, sharing from God’s Word how you can be free. Each week you are equipped with powerful tools from Scripture that will help you not only be free, but live free. You will learn how to effectively change your thought process when faced with temptation (not just sexual temptation, but actually any and all temptation). You will discover how to submit yourself to God, standing firmly against the temptation and successfully resist it every time. If you would like to learn more, simply go to our website (ThePurityCoach.com) and click on “Point of Purity.”    

The second way you can participate in this “Point of Purity Program” is to go to Amazon.com and purchase our brand new “Point of Purity” workbook. This workbook is a 12-week study designed to be done in connection with either an accountability partner or small group. The content in this workbook is the same material that we go over in our 1-on-1 sessions, the only real difference is that with this option you don’t have the benefit of having me walk through it with you.

Either way, let me encourage you to give serious consideration to our “Point of Purity Program.” For more information on this powerful 12-week program, just go to our website (ThePurityCoach.com) and click on “Point of Purity” or go to the Contact section of our website and give me a call.

Well, thank you so much for listening to this episode and until next time this is Author, Speaker, and Purity Coach Steve Etner reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.