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Techniques to resist temptation
Can somebody tell me how to resist tempatations?
Pray for me, \
Michael
Pray for me, \
Michael
Comments
Really, I cannot imagine worthwhile success in any area without seeking God's help at every step.
1 Samuel 12:23
Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.
Acts 12:5
Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto God for him.
Romans 1:9
For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the Gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,
1 Thessalonians 1:3
remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father,
1 Thessalonians 2:12
that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His Kingdom and glory. 13 For this cause also we thank God without ceasing: because when ye received the Word of God, which ye heard from us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also worketh effectually in you that believe.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
2 Timothy 1:3
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that I have thee in remembrance in my prayers night and day without ceasing.
Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Mark 14:38
Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak."
Luke 8:13
The seed on the rock are they that, when they hear, receive the Word with joy, but they have no root: they for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
1. Prayer to correctly identify the sources of temptation,the circumstances in which they occur and the senses involved.
2. Confessing for having succumbed to them in the past and resolving to resist them next time, with God's grace of course.
3. Remaining in close communion with God many times during the day to avoid distractions - I suggest following a routine of praying the Agbeya and other structured prayer. While no one is perfect, just deliberately striving to be error-free takes you a long way.
5. At the end of the day, personally evaluate and audit your conduct during the day and pray for guidance to stay clear of such temptations in future.
6. If possible, work closely friends or family, praying for each other and warning one another when a straying tendency is observed.
GBU,
R
Can somebody tell me how to resist tempatations?
Pray for me, \
Michael
Prayer and fasting is the answer.
The entire reason we fast and pray is to help us in resisting temptation. We teach ourselves to self control through fasting. I must admit, coming to think about it, no matter how much I love bamia and rice, it is NOT that pleasurable. You deprive yourself of gastronomic pleasures, and this, with praying gives you immense self control against temptation.
It is as if you are giving yourself an armour and sword in a battle against temptation - but NOTHING is more stronger than actually running away from temptation. It is always best to flee from it.
I think RPM's post was brilliant by the way.
If we pray the Agpeya several times a day as a habit, even if we do not always pray with attention, then we will find it easier to pray when tempted, and if we memorise the prayers, especially the introductory prayers which are common, then we will have something to always begin to pray when tempted.
In the little book, the Way of the Pilgrim, there is an account of a Russian soldier who was much given to drink. His life was almost ruined when he was advised that when tempted he should read a chapter of a Gospel, and if still tempted then read another, and to keep reading till the temptation passed. He took this advice, applied it grudgingly at first, but found that it changed his life.
And just a few days ago there was an excerpt from one of Pope Shenouda's books being circulated which described an illiterate Egyptian who had learned the Psalms by heart and was much given to praying them. He was called up for national service and would wander off by himself when he could to pray the Psalms as was his custom. One day he was roused from his state of prayer by his friends and colleagues all shouting and waving at him from a distance. When he wandered over to them they were amazed that they had seem him walking through a minefield, with a light surrounding him like hands guiding him. I used this in my homily on Sunday because it seems to me that when Christ was tempted and responded 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God' he was calling us to be rooted in the Scriptures as a means of resisting temptation.
It would be a good thing to carry a pocket edition of the Gospels, and the Psalms, and to have memorised one or two psalms that could be used in the face of temptation. The fathers often used the passage, 'O God make speed to save me, O Lord make haste to help me' as a constant prayer.
When the hostages where being held in Lebanon I started wondering how much I would have to nourish my spiritual life if I were taken in such circumstances. How much of the Agpeya would I recall? How many Psalms? Which passages from the Gospels and Scriptures? Not so much! And yet it it out of the spiritual resources we have laid down in our hearts in the times of blessing that we are able to resist the Devil in the times of need.
I will certainly be encouraging my own flock, and will lead by example as God gives me grace, to memorise more of the Scriptures so that we can turn to them, as our Lord did, when faced with temptation. What we do by way of preparation when we are not tempted will sustain us and preserve us when we are tempted.
Father Peter
It is also good to prepare for temptation by developing good habits which then become harder for us to break when we are tempted. Many of the times we fall into sin are because we have no virtuous habits to sustain us, or worse, because we have developed sinful habits which make it very difficult for us to resist Satan.
If we pray the Agpeya several times a day as a habit, even if we do not always pray with attention, then we will find it easier to pray when tempted, and if we memorise the prayers, especially the introductory prayers which are common, then we will have something to always begin to pray when tempted.
In the little book, the Way of the Pilgrim, there is an account of a Russian soldier who was much given to drink. His life was almost ruined when he was advised that when tempted he should read a chapter of a Gospel, and if still tempted then read another, and to keep reading till the temptation passed. He took this advice, applied it grudgingly at first, but found that it changed his life.
And just a few days ago there was an excerpt from one of Pope Shenouda's books being circulated which described an illiterate Egyptian who had learned the Psalms by heart and was much given to praying them. He was called up for national service and would wander off by himself when he could to pray the Psalms as was his custom. One day he was roused from his state of prayer by his friends and colleagues all shouting and waving at him from a distance. When he wandered over to them they were amazed that they had seem him walking through a minefield, with a light surrounding him like hands guiding him. I used this in my homily on Sunday because it seems to me that when Christ was tempted and responded 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God' he was calling us to be rooted in the Scriptures as a means of resisting temptation.
It would be a good thing to carry a pocket edition of the Gospels, and the Psalms, and to have memorised one or two psalms that could be used in the face of temptation. The fathers often used the passage, 'O God make speed to save me, O Lord make haste to help me' as a constant prayer.
When the hostages where being held in Lebanon I started wondering how much I would have to nourish my spiritual life if I were taken in such circumstances. How much of the Agpeya would I recall? How many Psalms? Which passages from the Gospels and Scriptures? Not so much! And yet it it out of the spiritual resources we have laid down in our hearts in the times of blessing that we are able to resist the Devil in the times of need.
I will certainly be encouraging my own flock, and will lead by example as God gives me grace, to memorise more of the Scriptures so that we can turn to them, as our Lord did, when faced with temptation. What we do by way of preparation when we are not tempted will sustain us and preserve us when we are tempted.
Father Peter
What I find remarkable in all this dialogue is that Fr. Peter's advice sounds like something I'd hear from a typical Coptic Orthodox Priest.
I don't want to create a side-topic, but it shows that Orthodoxy is beyond language and Egypt.
Pray for me
http://www.britishorthodox.org/sermon07.php
Father Peter
as do many of the Desert Fathers
God Bless you and Guide You
Pray for me
- do the sign of the cross over your forehead as many times as necessary until a bad thought goew away
-think of something else
-do something useful/ keep busy.... the idle mind/person is the devil's laboratory
Above all, you must have a firm will to resist (which is essentially what repentance is) temptation by recognizing just how ugly sin is. You must remember you're in a war and your enemy will not give you a break. --and you must, no matter what, win the war, even if you lose a few battles,
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy over and over till it goes away
or say Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner
over and over
God Bless
Pray for me and my weakness