Dealing with Lust

I grew up in a family of eight with six siblings. I was the youngest of three boys, and I looked up to my elder brothers to learn a lot from life. One of my elder brothers gained admission to a boys’ school and fell into the wrong company and got introduced to pornography. As a result, he also introduced me to it, and I spent many years as an addict of pornography. I wrote about how God delivered me from it here. Today, I want to speak about lust.

The root meaning of the word ‘lust’ in the Bible is Orexis, which means excitement of mind, longing after, desire, and craving for mostly in a bad sense. By watching pornography, I realised I became sexually aware and developed a lustful mindset towards women. When I saw a woman, my mind would immediately begin to picture her nakedness and imagine what it would be like to take her to bed. Pornography and masturbation open the door to the spirit of lust, creating a cycle of addiction that consumes the mind and distorts one’s view of sexuality. Many young men and women, due to exposure to pornography, find themselves in the same situation, where their thoughts, imaginations, and even conversations become dominated by sex or sexual desires. What starts as curiosity soon becomes bondage, making it difficult to control one’s urges and leading to deeper struggles with lust.

I will discuss here, how to overcome the spirit of lust both spiritually, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and practically, using physical strategies.

When I started watching pornography and engaging in masturbation, I noticed an immediate shift in my dreams, which became filled with sexual content. On one occasion, I even dreamt of being with a prostitute, and the following day, shockingly, I physically lost my virginity. This experience made me realise that there was a spiritual influence driving what was manifesting physically in my life. Many men call these sexual dreams wet dreams, but it is not a wet dream; it is the spirit of lust attaching itself to you. The spirit of lust does not operate alone; it brings along other influences such as fornication, unbridled affection, lack of self-control, and an uncontrolled sexual appetite. Many men suffer from lust, and they end up having multiple partners and engaging in fornication.

There are key signs that indicate you are dealing with the spirit of lust. These include recurring sexual dreams, persistent thoughts and visions of sex, an unquenchable sexual appetite, impure desires, same-sex attraction or homosexuality, and a lack of self-control, where a man pursues “anything in a skirt”, as they say in Ghana.

How do you deal with the spirit of lust? The first step is admitting you have a problem and being willing to receive deliverance. You cannot be set free from something you don’t recognise as a problem. You must make a conscious decision, both mentally and physically, that you want to be delivered.

Once you’ve made that decision, take it to the Lord in prayer, because only God can truly set you free through the power in the name of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Mark 16:17, ‘And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.’ Demons and evil spirits can only be cast out in the name of Jesus Christ.” You have authority. Find scriptures in the Bible that focus on deliverance and pray with them, such as Obadiah 1:17, Mark 5, Acts 16, and Mark 16. The Bible contains numerous accounts of deliverance.

Confess your sins and ask God to set you free from the spirit of lust that has attached itself to you. You can also add fasting to your prayers, as some demons only leave through fasting and prayer. As Matthew 17:21 says, ‘However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.’ Additionally, consider confiding in your pastor or a trusted, honorable man of God. Allow him to pray over you, lay hands on you, and cast out that spirit from  you.

There are also practical steps to break free from this bondage. The spirit of lust often enters through what you see; what is commonly referred to as the ‘eye gate.’ King David fell into adultery after seeing Bathsheba bathing – she was naked! What you expose your eyes to can fuel lust, so it is crucial to guard against anything that triggers it. Avoid watching content that stirs lust, including pornography, sexual images, and even music videos that glorify sensuality, such as those featuring women in bikinis or models in suggestive clothing. The Bible warns us in 1 Thessalonians 5:22, ‘Abstain from all appearance of evil.’

The mind is where a lot of the battle of lust takes place, so you need to guard what enters your mind. There are many of us with very wild imaginations, so you need to make sure you guard your mind and thoughts. The Bible even says to bring your thoughts into obedience of Jesus Christ in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Jesus Christ signifies truth, holiness, purity, and righteousness. The Bible also encourages us to let our minds consistently be filled with things that are pure and good in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy meditate on these things.” Give no room to lustful thoughts.

Be intentional about fleeing from anything that can lead you into lust. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). By refraining from watching these things, you are actively resisting the devil, and he will have no choice but to flee. In doing so, you take authority over your own freedom.

As you can see, the battle against lust will take your willpower and God. I pray God delivers anybody reading this article who is suffering from the spirit of lust. Amen!!!