This article on how to stop sinful habits is a definitive guide on this topic of overcoming sinful habits. This pillar post describes 7 simple ways to stop habitual sins. They are biblical, simple, and practical. Please enjoy the article and put the wisdom to work in your life. I would be very glad if you can share this article with your friends.
Section 1: Introduction
What are sinful habits?
Let me use this simple illustration to answer this question about sinful habits (it’s a discussion between Tom and his pastor):
“I’ve tried to stop but I kept on getting back into it.” Tom finally summoned enough strength to speak out his struggles to his pastor after he asked him to take his seat. “Pastor, I’ve struggled with this for months now sir.”
“But,” the Pastor said, smiling at him. “How come you did not discuss this with your mum?”
“I,” Tom said, looking up to look at his pastor’s face. “Should tell my mum? I was shy and I felt I would soon overcome this soon.”
“But,” the Pastor said, still smiling at Tom. “You’re a born-again Christian Tom, you shouldn’t be found doing this.”
“I know,” Tom said silently and took his face down again as if he was terribly ashamed of himself. “But I tried to stop it sir but I just found out that the more I tried, the more I get back into it. I want to believe God is disappointed in me sir.”
“No, no, no, God is not and He won’t.” The Pastor said trying to reassure Tom. “It’s just that you’ve been trying to rely on your own strength to overcome this sinful habit.”
“How?” Tom asked looking up again to look at his pastor’s face.
Christians are built to stop sinful habits
Tom had given his life to Jesus Christ some months back but he had struggled to keep off old sinful habits. He watches pornographic pictures and also masturbates.
He was at this sinful act one day in his room when his mum bumped into his room unannounced and caught him in the act. She was surprised and had to discuss the issue with the Pastor of her church.
New Christians must understand this
New Christians and even old ones must understand the fact that we are beings who existed as spirits, as souls, and as bodies. Our spirits got born again or were raised from the dead when we became born again but our souls and bodies did not receive such changes.
Though we are Christians already, we still need the help of God to work on our soul (mind) and body consistently to live our victory over sin. This was what the Psalmist was thinking when he wrote, under inspiration, the following lines in Psalm 119:
“My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.” (KJV)
The NKJV version used ‘life’ for ‘soul’ in that passage:
“My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget your law.”
Role of your soul on how to stop sinful habits
The soul consists of the mind, emotion, and will. Your soul (your life) did not receive the privilege of becoming born again or coming to life when you got born again.
Your soul’s survival will largely depend on what you have decided to do with it using the many provisions in Christianity and God’s Word for you. The Psalmist said his soul is in his own hands.
Tom did not know this and no one told him about this, so the old habits stayed with him even after he became a born-again Christians. He never worked on his mind and he struggled with the sinful habit and couldn’t find a way out of it.
Related: Stopping anger as an addictive habit – My story
A guide to address how to stop sinful habits
This guide is designed to show you the help that’s available in God and His Word to overcome or stop sinful habits even if you are a long-term Christian.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).
Though the reward for sin is punishment and death we should be happy that God has provided a second option which we can hold on to. That’s the free gift of God called eternal life.
This guide is showing you the way to this wonderful free gift. If you accept God’s submission here, you will always live your victory over sin and sinful habits. Just before I go to the next section of this article on overcoming sinful habits, I want you to think over the bible passage below:
“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4).
This should encourage you to study further from this guide. I am sure you don’t want to practice lawlessness consistently. Please scroll to the next section.
Related: Love of God: Why you must not take it for granted
Section 2: What’s a habit?
More definitions of sinful habit
According to the definition on the Wikipedia website, a habit is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.
The American Journal of Psychology (1903) defines it this way:
“a habit, from the standpoint of psychology, [as] a more or less fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience.”
If we have to use those definitions above to define a sinful habit for the purpose of this guide on how to stop sinful habits, we can have this:
“A sinful habit is a routine of sinful behavior (behaviors that go against God’s Word) that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.
Or
A sinful habit, from the standpoint of psychology, is a more or less fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling (that are contrary to God’s Word) acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience.
The important keywords in the definitions of sinful habits
I want you to look at the important keywords from these two definitions:
- Routine: Things that have become part of you. You do them on a regular basis.
- Occur subconsciously: They happen, most times, without you having any control over them because they have been part of you or they have settled down in your subconscious mind over the years.
- Fixed way of thinking, willing, and feeling: They are constant things you think, will, or feel because they have been things you have gotten used to. They are already buried deep in your mind and subconscious mind.
- Acquired through the previous repetition of a mental experience: Those things you do have been things you have been doing and they have been things you have mentally kept as part of you. As a man thinks so he is.
- Contrary to God’s Word: Finally, they are against God’s Word. If they are against God’s Word, then the devil and his cohorts must be involved or they will be interested in what you do.
Please go over those definitions again and the explanations of the various keywords and key phrases. They will be the foundation or the basis of the solution you will get in this short ebook guide.
I will be referring to this section of the guide and the Tom story I started with under the Introduction section. Remember that our objective is to show you ways to stop sinful habits.
Section 3: Read this Letter
Letter to newly born again Christians
I wrote this letter some years ago and it was meant to correctly inform newly born-again Christians. It was meant to bring them to the spiritual and physical realities of their statuses as newly born-again Christians.
You need to read it too even if you are an old Christian. It goes a long way to explain what really happened at salvation and the battle of the mind and body we begin to fight after we become born again. It also shows the solution and the victory we have already.
Please start reading the letter now:
“When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) (TLB)
“Isn’t this what we told you, while we were slaves, to leave us alone? We said it would be better to be slaves to the Egyptians than dead in the wilderness” (Exodus 14: 12) (TLB)
Now That You Are Born Again
The Holy Spirit of God has helped me to write this letter to you to welcome you into the body of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, and also to educate you on one or two things that you must know in your first few years as a Christian.
This is necessary so that you can really enjoy these early Christian days and also be strengthened to continue in the faith that you have embraced.
I want you to lift up your eyes and read the first bible passage I have up there at the beginning of this letter. Can you see it? Please read carefully through it. I have quoted from The Living Bible version so that you can understand the meaning at first read.
2 Corinthians 5:17 should be the first bible passage you settle down to understand immediately you become a born-again Christian. You can ask the Holy Spirit to tell you more about it. In fact, you will have to learn more things about that scripture from the Holy Spirit all through your Christian life on this earth!
It has everything to do with what Christianity as a faith stands for. You can also have a trusted and matured Christian leader or friend explain it to you. That Bible passage is the biblical description of Jesus’ life that you will now begin to live.
This report is intended to tell you something about this passage; this is the reason why I have written this letter to you.
A Brand New Person Inside
Now that you are born again, you are not a brand new person outside but a brand new person inside. I have underlined those two words for emphasis.
Can you take a brief look at yourself (your body, legs, eyes, nose, etc.) for a moment? Can you notice any difference since you gave your life to Jesus? I am sure you will not notice any of these changes and I am not surprised it is so because that is the way it should be!
The Jesus crucifixion and resurrection and your acceptance of this fact will not immediately bring about a physical change in you!
Then, where has the change occurred? The change came on your inside. I want you to think for a moment and check out how you felt before you took the decision to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior and also how you felt afterward.
Let me tell you briefly how I felt when I gave my life to Jesus and I am sure you must have felt almost the same way too.
- I felt very sorry for my wicked acts and I desperately wanted to make amends and these “strange” feelings actually made me rush out to confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
- Tears flooded my eyes as I pronounced Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
- Afterward, I just wanted to read the whole of the bible in one day.
- Afterward, I just wanted to pray every second.
- Afterward, I just wanted to run away from my old friends and habits.
Did you feel almost the same way too? If you have just given your life to Jesus Christ, you should expect these experiences.
It is normal, nothing is wrong with you, it is just that you have allowed the Spirit of God to work on you from the inside of you! A great change happened on my and your inside and we just wanted to do everything to correct the wrongs of many years back!
The Story of Israel In Egypt
Let me now take you to the old testament of the bible. I am sure you must have read or heard about how the children of Israel left Egypt as slaves to the Promised Land.
However, if you have not, let me briefly tell you something about this interesting bible story. The story can be found in the book of Exodus.
The children of Israel found themselves in Egypt after famine took their forefather – Jacob and his other children to that land. Joseph (one of Jacob’s sons) was a prime minister at this time in this foreign land.
They settled down in this foreign land and grew exceedingly (Exodus 1:70). After some years, a new king who does not know the story and was not interested in how they got to Egypt came into power (Exodus 1:8) and began to make life difficult for the Israelites.
Taskmasters were set over them to afflict them. They became slaves in this foreign land.
God, however, heard their cries of afflictions and mightily rescued them from slavery by sending a prophet (Moses) to them. As it should be expected, the Egyptians would not let go easily. The power of God came in to put plagues on the Egyptians and they finally let go the children of God!
This Same Power Freed You!
I hope you enjoyed the story. Please read the whole story from the book of Exodus One.
I mentioned that the power of God freed the Israelites from bondage. Yes, this great power was behind their movement out of Egypt!
Let me inform you that this same power got you convicted and freed you from the camp of the devil when you gave your life to Jesus Christ!
You heard the word; the Israelites also heard the message of God from Moses. Probably, you saw miracles in your fellowship or church, the Israelites also saw plagues ravaged the entire land of Egypt.
The power of the Holy Spirit of God convicted you and you ran out to say, “Jesus, become my Lord and Savior today and henceforth”
What Then Happens Afterwards
This is the most important stage of this letter to you, so you must read with extra care now.
Can you see the second bible passage at the beginning of this letter? I picked it from the Old Testament book of Exodus 14:12.
This was the unfortunate statement of the children of Israel who failed to make themselves have a proper understanding of their newly freed status. They murmured and lashed out at the prophet Moses because they failed to understand that the power of God which freed them from slavery in Egypt is still available to them despite the threats of Pharaohs’ army behind them and the Red sea in front of them!
I want you to know that this unfortunate incident is a common occurrence amongst newly born again Christians!
They have just become born again but they can’t really see any change on the outside that agrees with their new Christian status. Sometimes, the old headache is still banging hard on their heads.
The same cancer pains are still sending signals of pain and death to their brains just like the battles of Pharaoh and the Red Sea were still acting out their negative and defeated scripts in the lives of the Israelites in the wilderness.
The children of Israel moved away from Egypt straight into the wilderness instead of the promised land and as if this was not enough, the dreaded armies of Pharaoh were right there at their back, and also the intimidating Red Sea was right there in front of them! Therefore, they lost consciousness of their new status as free people.
A newly born again Christian’s experience is just like this and if care is not taken, he or she may just begin to make the same ignorant statement as we read the Israelites made in Exodus 14:12!
Your New Personality
Let us briefly look at what God made available to the children of Israel to confirm their new status as free people.
- A fantastic experience of God’s power to subdue the Egyptians to make them free His people!
- He made them went away with the possessions of the Egyptians (Exodus 3:21-22)!
- He made available an angel to go before them (Exodus 14:19)!
- He gave them a prophet over their camp in the person of Moses!
- He made available a pillar of cloud to lead them by day and a pillar of fire to lead them by night! (Exodus 13:21)
They had all these and they still felt empty, unprotected, and insecure! This may just be what your experience is at this time!
I want you to look at the provisions of God for you as a newly born again Christian:
- The presence of the power of the Holy Spirit made you felt sorry for your sins. I am sure you know that nothing would have made you come to the cross of Christ to ask for forgiveness if there was no power greater than you that got you convicted.
- The presence of the fact that you have all the riches of redemption now transferred to you. Remember that Jesus became poor so that we can be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
- The availability of angels who must now begin to minister to you as a child of God (Hebrews 12:22).
- An opportunity to come under the mentorship of the Pastor in your church. This is the reason why you must not toy with fellowship attendance at this stage and even at any stage in your Christian walk on this earth.
- An opportunity to have The Holy Spirit of God come into you to guide, instruct and order your steps.
- And many more…
Oh, what a long list of provisions for you! You will observe that these provisions are just like the ones I mentioned above about the provisions of God for the children of Israel.
Change is on the inside
Remember that the change is on your inside. You must sit down to do strong meditations on these provisions. The more you meditate on them, the more the Holy Spirit strengthens and shares more information with you to make you believe more in your new creation or new status personality and no devil in this world can get you off track!
Please Note This
Pharaoh and his army ran after the Israelites after they left his country because they (Egyptians) were angry that the Israelites not only left their camp but also ruined their economy. Likewise, the devil, who know fully well that your spirit, which was dead, has now come alive in Christ Jesus, will launch his attack on your redeemed soul.
The devil is angry and he runs after you at this stage making you to have memories of the things that were happening to you in the past which you are probably still seeing the traces of them as a newly born-again Christian. I am not surprised the bible says we must guard our hearts with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23).
Please don’t fall for his dirty and defeated antics and start making or acting the unfortunate statements of the children of Israel in Exodus 14:12. Instead, you should now begin to store the word of God into your heart and mind on a regular basis (Romans 12:2).
I am telling you that this singular practice will greatly help you at this stage of your Christian life. The Spirit of God will put a thirst and hunger for His word in you, please don’t disregard these important promptings or help from the Spirit of God– rise to study God’s word daily!
You should also learn to behave like Moses, who before he even asked God for what to do to the Red Sea made a great statement of faith as we have it recorded in Exodus 14:13 (TLB):
“…Don’t be afraid. Just stand up where you are and watch, and you will see the wonderful way the Lord will rescue you today. The Egyptians you are looking at – you will never see them again. The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t need to lift a finger”
Great statement from a man with a great mind!
Moses had a great mind
Even the battles of Pharaoh and the red sea could not corrupt his mind to make him faithless! I believe strongly that the secret behind Moses’ great faith statement was because he had spent enough time in God’s presence to have a “God mind” that will not shake at the sights of obstacles. The best way to stay in God’s presence always is for you to keep a diligent study timetable of the word of God!
Please, you can also confess the following statement against those defeated occurrences around you:
“I am a new creation in Christ. You headache, migraine, poverty, sickness, habit and whatever, you are a thing of the past in my life. I belong to God’s camp now where you don’t have a place. I am a saved soul. Victory is mine and I have this already over you in Jesus mighty name!”
You must continue to make these types of faith statements and also continue to do an aggressive search into God’s word for more information about your new Christian status with the help of the Holy Spirit. This will make your early Christian days a great experience!
Happy new life and experiences!
Your newfound faith
I believe that letter has been able to show you the new situations around your newfound faith. Because you got born again does not mean old habits, old things will still not ‘knock’ at the door of your mind and body; they will. But you have enough provisions in Christianity and in God’s Word to have victory over them.
Now, let’s go down to work with the step-by-step actions of this guide on how to stop sinful habits.
Section 4: Step by step actions guide
How to stop sinful habits (step 1): Write down a plan
God’s Spirit helped me to understand the necessity of having a plan documented properly if I want to achieve a set objective. He helped me with the following scriptures:
“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” (Habakkuk 2: 2)
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps”. (Proverbs 16:9) (NIV).
Particularly, I have always been impressed by the second passage. If you want God’s help over this problem, you need to plan your course (have a set objective) before He can come in to help you.
Here, you have a set objective and it’s to stop a sinful habit. You need to put a plan of execution in place. This is important so that you can have a smooth, godly path to a solution.
What are the contents of your plans?
Content of your documented plans should have the following:
- Write down the old habit that you want to stop.
- Look for and write down specific scriptures that will be useful for the exercise. For example, when I tried to stop anger, I wrote scriptures on my paper plan around the story of Moses and other bible passages.
- Write down what influences or helps you to do the sinful habit.
- Form prayer points out of all you have written down on paper.
Put your plan where you can always have easy access to it so that you can follow them. I put mine on my study table and I also pasted the scriptural references on my picture board in the same room.
I believe having a plan, praying over the plan, and following the plan will always bring up a miracle. It’s a principle and it will always work.
How to Overcome Sin and Temptation
Well, let me just digress a little. If you need more information on this important theme of this article (I believe you will need to gain access to more information on this topic anyway), you should take a look at my complete and comprehensive guide which discusses the topic of sin from the root.
If you want to fight off the challenge of sinful habits successfully, you need to understand what
- Sins are
- Why sins are sins
- What originated the sins we commit today
- God’s true position on this important topic
- How you have been empowered to live your victory over sin
- A simple analogy of how you can begin to ‘boss’ sin
- Devil’s strategy to bring you consistently under the power of sin
- How to consistently put your sins under your feet
- And more…
It’s a ‘bible’ on the topic of sin. You need to have this guide in your possession and you need to share it with your friends. The more information you have about a topic or problem, the more empowered you are over or to overcome the problem.
Please check out and get my book, ‘How to Overcome Sin and Temptation’ today. Get it at this highly discounted price today. The price won’t always remain at this price, so you need to get it now.
Stopping sinful habits (step 2): You still need Jesus
I want you to read an article I wrote some time ago under our Christian Business Devotional about Christians who give their lives to Jesus at salvation but take it back afterward. It will set the tone for the message I want to pass across to you under this step.
——
Christian Business Devotional: Many give their lives to Jesus and then take it back from Him after they become born again. Many confess and ask Him to be the Lord of their lives and then take Him off that position after they become born again. They elevate themselves to become the lords of their lives after they become born again.
How can you take your life back from Him after you become born again? Let us look at some of the ways you can do that below:
- When you don’t value His instructions from His Word. Jesus is the Word of God, He saved you; so His Word must continue to guide and save you even after you become born again.
- When you don’t value an improving relationship with His Spirit in the person of the Holy Spirit. He is to teach you and guide you into all truths (John 16:13). He won’t be able to do this effectively if you are very far away from Him.
- When you value the words of men over His Word. To some people, Jesus saved them but their fathers, uncles, friends, that rich man has been elevated to become their lords.
When you abandon the Word of God, the world will capture you, trample you under its feet and then throw you out! Jesus wants to be your Savior and also the Lord over your life.
If you are yet to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you need to do so immediately. He ONLY has the power to save those who are lost and troubled. Say a prayer and ask God to forgive you today asking Jesus to become your Lord Savior.
——-
I believe you can figure out my point of view in that article. When Jesus saved you at salvation, He still wants to save you all through your life as a Christian on this earth. If He saved you from sin to become saved and a child of God, you still need Him to save you consistently from any sinful habit or any problem or challenge.
Related: Download and read Jesus and Your Success ebook free
You need Him as His Spirit and as His Word
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). I showed you in the last chapter how God’s Word should be part of the plan you make to stop sinful habits. His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths (Psalm 119: 105). Jesus said the Word that He speaks unto us are spirit and they are life (John 6:33).
Overcoming sinful habits is basically a spiritual experience so you need the spiritual Word of God to fight successfully. You need to, first of all, be very close to God’s Word studying it diligently..
You need to look for relevant scriptural references that you can use to fight the battle. There are scriptures God has prepared to fight every battle that may come up on this earth. The truth is that God’s Word wins always. So you need Jesus as His Word.
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:14).
You need Jesus as His Spirit
You also need Jesus as His Spirit after you have become born again. You don’t abandon His Word and His Spirit. You won’t be able to achieve much in this battle if you do.
Jesus used about seven chapters in the bible book of John to tell His disciples and us this truth. He even said it very clear to them in the book of Acts. He said:
The bible says God teaches our hands to make war (Psalm 144:1). It is His Spirit that does that. The Holy Spirit is the One who will help you to see and use scriptures appropriately for the battle.
He is the One who will show you revelations of what you still need to know so that you can pray about it or do something about it. I am surprised some Christians don’t value a relationship with the Holy Spirit of God. I wonder how they hope to survive on this earth where the devil is still in operation and where we are still dwelling in the flesh.
Let the Holy Spirit of God guide you to use His Word effectively to win your battle over sinful habits.
How to stop sinful habits (step 3): Confess and forsake your sins
Usually, there is a confession and forsaking that you must make before God can step in to help you. I want you to understand that it’s not just going to be confession alone but a deliberate decision to forsake the sin. Answer to your prayers for help to stop that sinful habit starts from here.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).
God is ever ready to forgive you if you decide to confess your sins and to forsake them. God says,
“if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
The bible also has this:
“The LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you.” (Isaiah 59:1-2).
So if confession is done, you have set yourself up to be helped by God.
Confession of sin can be to:
- God personally in your closet and a decision made to forsake the sin while talking to God in prayer.
- It can also be a confession to an older Christian who has spiritual authority over you.
- It can also be to your spouse if you are married.
- It can be to your parent if you are a teenager.
No matter who you have decided to make a confession to, you must ensure to, first of all, make it to God in your closet. The purpose of telling others is to receive help. That was why I wrote earlier that the person must have spiritual authority over you.
The bible says,
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:15-17).
Concealing stops your victory
I want you to read the passage below:
“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” (Proverbs 28:13).
It’s dangerous to conceal your sinful habits. It will stop your victory over sinful habits. The bible says the person who hides his or her sins will not prosper. That is, the person will not find the heavenly help required to have victory over the sinful habit.
However, if you confess and forsake them, you will find mercy and compassion. When God’s mercy and compassion get to you on any issue or problem on this earth, a solution, victory, and breakthrough will definitely arrive for you. No devil can stop your victory when God’s mercy has been given to you on any problem.
I don’t hide in God’s presence. I lay it naked before Him. If I don’t, He knows anyway so why do I need to hide anything from Him.
Whenever lustful thought is trying to gain control of my mind, I tell Him and ask Him to help me. When anger is trying to gain control of me on the inside, I talk to God in prayer.
A baby cannot hide his nakedness from his mother. He can’t. It’s the same way you can’t hide your nakedness, sins, or struggles from God. He is your Maker and Creator.
All sins shall be forgiven
Don’t be scared about this statement from Jesus below:
“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:28-29).
The key phrase that should interest you is that Jesus said all sins confessed will be forgiven. So before you approach God to forgive your sins, you should be assured that God will respond positively and you will obtain mercy and help.
But what about the part of the passage above that says, “…but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”
I wrote a detailed explanation in my book on How to Overcome Sin and Temptation (details were shared earlier). You should get it today at this highly discounted price. I really struggled with the second part of that statement in that passage until God’s Spirit helped me.
Stopping sinful habits (step 4): You need to pray specifically
You should understand that the fight to stop that sinful habit is what I call; ‘an unseen battle’ which is predominantly a spiritual one. If it is this, then it should be fought spiritually if you hope to have victory.
I use to marvel at how Christians try to fight battles like that physically. It won’t work and you won’t have victory. The devil is happy when you try to do something like that. He knows you are just wasting time.
We are principally spirit beings and we serve a God who is a Spirit. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.
As Christians, we fight battles on our knees. The prayer platform represents our main platform to launch attacks and to win battles (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).
Focus your prayers
But the problem also comes when we pray but does not pray right or do not pray specifically. Some time ago, the Spirit of God told me to use active words in my prayers when I am praying. For example, there is a difference between these two prayer lines below:
- “I want this obstacle to melt in Jesus name.”
- “You this obstacle (name or call its name) melt in Jesus name.”
We are spiritual soldiers so we need to talk the way soldiers talk in battlefronts. We are commanders. The bible says we shall decree a thing and it shall be established. (Job 22:28).
So when you pray against that sinful habit, pray specifically, actively, and purposely. Tell God specifically what you want. You should command demons to enter into chains. You should declare your victory over the problem.
A good way to pray:
- God, help me in my struggle with (name the sinful habit).
- God, use the blood of Jesus to wash the sinful habit of (name the sinful habit) away from my mind.
- I command every demon behind this habit of (name the sinful habit) to enter into chains. (Jude 6)
Finally, under this step, you will notice how Jesus and Paul prayed specific, active, and purposeful prayers in the bible passages below:
“He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:38).
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to [a]buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.” (2 Cor. 12:7-10).
Jesus said a specific prayer to the Father. He said,
“…let this cup pass from me.”
Paul also said a specific prayer to God. He said,
“…Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.”
Both of them also got specific and very quick responses from God, the Father.
The Father immediately showed Jesus His will was for Him to go to the cross. The Father also gave Paul a quick and straightforward answer:
“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9).
I want you to note that Jesus and Paul went to God on three occasions with the same specific prayer lines. So you may have to keep on saying the same prayer lines until you begin to see the help of God over that problem. I did that in my fight against violent anger. I kept on praying the same prayer lines over and over again.
When your prayer lines to God are specific and persistent, you will always quickly get the attention of God over that problem.
How to end sinful habits (step 5): Take out helpers of the habit
For every habit, good or bad, there are helpers of them. That’s, those actions, events, materials, people, etc. that influence you to do them. If you truly want to stop the sinful habit, you must identify these helpers and put in concerted efforts to take them away or run away from them.
If you don’t, they will continue to get you in the act of the sinful habit. They are helpers but you don’t need their evil help at this point since you’re trying to stop the sinful habit.
For example, for someone who is involved in the sinful habit of masturbation or pornography, he must do away with every porno magazine in his care. If they are on his phone, he must delete them.
For anyone who is trying to stop smoking, he needs to stop seeing friends who also smoke cigarettes. That old and sinful association will always get him in the act of smoking if he continues to associate with them.
The bible says in Psalm 1:1,
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful…”
The bible also says in 1 Corinthians 15:33,
“Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
In 1 Thessalonians 5:22, we also have this useful instruction,
“abstain from every form of evil.”
Replace with new helpers
It’s not enough to do away with these sinful helpers; you must replace them with new Godly ones. Nature abhors a vacuum. You need to put in place things, events, materials that are Godly in order to help you form new Godly habits.
In the same Psalm 1, God said you should not walk in the midst of sinners but He immediately talk about a replacement,
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
Unlearning old habits
I believe the method I shared above is one of the potent ways of unlearning old and sinful habits – taking away the helpers and replacing them with new ones. I had to read, consistently, the stories of Moses and the way he got angry when he displayed his hot anger in the wilderness. I have to read, severally, many bible passages that speak against hot or violent anger. I am still doing that even today.
I also helped myself to become more conscious of the necessity to avoid getting angry. I learned to move away from the hot spot of arguments and I tried to avoid difficult people I can afford to avoid at that time. I learned from the scripture that says,
“Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.” (Romans 16:17).
These were the processes I put in place to unlearn the old habit of violent anger. You should begin to use this too. They are very potent processes against sinful habits.
Overcoming sinful habits (step 5): Watch over your heart
The bible passage below will tell you in a summary all I want to show you in this chapter. Read it below:
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23).
Your heart is the control center for your life. This is the reason why salvation must be birthed from your heart.
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans10:10).
You have to believe in your heart and then confess with your mouth for you to become born again. Then the Holy Spirit of God can take His residence in your heart and person. The heart is the ‘office’ of the Holy Spirit in you.
If salvation was birthed from the heart, then you should understand that sin can also erupt from it if you don’t diligently watch over it.
Read what Jesus said below:
“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28).
You commit sin in your heart before you commit it with your body or actions! You must learn to watch over what you allow to come into and stay in your heart. It can make it mar your life.
This implies that you always commit that sinful habit in your heart and mind before you go ahead to commit it physically or with your actions or body. You need to do something about that important source or control center where the sinful habit is erupting from.
How do you do that?
- Go on your knees and ‘heartfully’ ask God to forgive you. James wrote in the bible, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. (James 5:16) (AMP).
- Ask the Holy Spirit of God to search you out. Let Him bring out the wrong content of your heart to your notice that is making you to indulge in the sinful habit.
- Plead the blood of Jesus. Use the blood of Jesus to wash your heart clean. This should be a regular practice as you fight this problem.
- Start putting the right content in your heart. God’s Word is a major source of good content.
- Check your mind. Your mind is one of the platforms that feed your heart with content. Some people refer to the heart as the subconscious mind. Get your heart renewed consistently with God’s Word (Romans 12:1).
- Affirm or say consistently your victory over the habit. Proverbs 18:20 says, “A man’s belly shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; with the increase of his lips.” This shows that what you say also goes to fill your heart or mind with contents even if your confessions are done in the place of prayer or when you are alone. I always do this privately. I say to myself, when I am alone, who God says I am in order to challenge present uncomfortable situations around me.
You need to take actions
There’s a need for deliberate actions on your part. Nothing really happens in the kingdom automatically without you first taking a deliberate step of action. Just look at these various instructions from God’s Word below:
- “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14).
- “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22).
- “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1).
- “Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
All the underlined are what I call, ‘action keywords.’ You have to take deliberate actions before God’s help can be fully activated.
You have to make decisions and watch over your decisions to perform them. God watches over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12), you should too because you are created in His likeness.
How to end sinful habits (step 60): Prayerfully talk to someone
You can’t fight the battles of life alone. Most of the fathers of faith did not run the race alone. They were always having people around them. I agree that they always ensure these people are people who are Godly and who will truly help their God-given cause.
James wrote this:
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16).
You may need to talk to someone about this issue. The following are examples of people you can talk to:
- Your parents are good examples if you’re still a teenager or if you’re still under their care.
- Your older siblings who you know are more matured spiritually than you are.
- Your pastor in the church.
- Your Sunday school teacher.
- A close friend who you know is more matured spiritually than you are.
- Your spouse if you’re married.
Prayerfully talking to someone can save you a lot of trouble.
How to Overcome Sin and Temptation
If you need more information on this important topic (I believe you will need to gain access to more information on this topic anyway), you should take a look at my complete and comprehensive guide which discusses the topic of sin from the root.
If you want to fight off the challenge of sinful habits successfully, you need to understand what
- Sins are
- Why sins are sins
- What originated the sins we commit today
- God’s true position on this important topic
- How you have been empowered to live your victory over sin
- A simple analogy of how you can begin to ‘boss’ sin
- Devil’s strategy to bring you consistently under the power of sin
- How to consistently put your sins under your feet
- And more…
It’s a ‘bible’ on the topic of sin. You need to have this guide in your possession and you need to share it with your friends.
The more information you have about a topic or problem, the more empowered you are over or to overcome the problem.
Please check out and get my book, ‘How to Overcome Sin and Temptation’ today. Get it at this highly discounted price today. The price won’t always remain at this price, so you need to get it now.
Finally on how to stop sinful habits
I have been able to share short but very powerful tips with you here on how to stop sinful habits. You need to take action on them. You now know the truth so you are compelled to act on them because the bible says, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17).
I believe you don’t want to add more sins. I pray God will give you the strength to act on what you have read in this short guide.
Do you know that you cannot have God’s Spirit in you to start a healthy relationship with Him except you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If you are reading this and you are yet to ‘relocate’ from the camp’ of the devil’ to the camp of God’ through believing and confession of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you should go here to say a simple prayer.
Please I would like you to share this article with someone you know who is struggling with sinful habits. It will go a long way to help them. I would also like to read your comments on this article. You can also share how you have been able to handle sinful habits.
smoking is injurious to health so it is important to stop these habits from the people.
You are very much correct. Thank you for visiting our blog.