Lord, I thank you that there is more grace in Your heart than there is sin in my past. Although I have made my share of bad decisions, I know that you can forgive my past and cover my mistakes so that it will no longer separate me from your fellowship and holiness.
I take full responsibility for my actions, the hurt and pain and grief that I have caused to everybody through my involvement in pornography/ adultery/ immorality and I ask for your forgiveness from all of this. Lord release your peace and comfort to those who are still hurting and teach me how to be a new man even if it means breaking me, I hand to you Lord my permission to do whatever it takes to be the man my family needs me to be, the man who You died for me to be. Father I bring nothing to You but my great need for change. I acknowledge that You only have my best interests at heart and I fully trust You in the process that I must go through. Thank you Lord for blessing my marriage, my wife and my children. I count on Your grace and favour in this matter in Jesus’ name Amen
Gen3x – Fighting Pornography Together
“Hear, O Israel, Ye Approach This Day Unto Battle Against Your Enemies: Let Not Your Hearts Faint, Fear Not, And Do Not Tremble, Neither Be Ye Terrified Because Of Them. “Deuteronomy 20v3
www.gen3x.org
Men Praying – Active Duty
When Rick left for his second tour of duty in the Middle East, he shared some specific concerns with his wife Melissa. “I’m uneasy about some of the men in my new platoon. I don’t know them as well as the last team. Pray for us.” Like most men, Rick faces a culture that projects the misguided belief that fear equals weakness. Most men loathe admitting that they have fears—fear for their families, fear for their finances, fear for the future. Two months after Rick deployed, he woke up in Walter Reed Army Medical Center. His entire right leg was in a massive cast . . . and his left leg was missing below the knee. His captain recounted, “Following the roadside IED, Rick pulled himself from one wounded soldier to another, praying with them.” “I command you—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). During his grueling rehabilitation Rick explained, “The difference between a coward and a hero is not whether or not you’re scared. It’s about what you do while you’re scared.”
Men like Rick understand that prayer enables us to conquer our weaknesses. The apostle Paul prayed repeatedly to God for strength to face Satan’s torments. Only when he surrendered his pride did Paul understand how his weaknesses related to Christ’s power (2 Corinthians 12:6-10). Men of prayer surrender their fears, pride, and weaknesses to the One who is in control.
Men Praying – Under Attack
At one time or another, every man faces the crushing weight of powerlessness to do anything about a health issue. Attacks upon his body and mind present themselves relentlessly. Dr. Don Colbert, physician, author, and noted speaker, observes, “. . . When come into the doctor they won’t tell you their problem — until the last minute . . . It’s sort of like how men rarely ask for help.”1
Jim’s competitive nature revealed itself as a vice president as well as in his biking and kayaking. When a non-cancer-related abnormality appeared during a routine examination, Jim tried to remain unshaken. Further tests indicated Stage D prostate cancer (sometimes called Stage IV), which is considered not medically curable. Jim resented this intrusion in his life. “I didn’t get angry, but I felt very helpless and wondered, ‘Why Lord, why?’” Even though his faith in God had remained strong for the past fifteen-some years, Jim remembered the tense moments prior to a radical prostatectomy. Just before entering the operating room, he told the orderly to stop. “I looked and pointed up and said, ‘Lord, You know me and I know You—do with me what you will.’ Once I got those words out I was so at peace and I told the guy that was pushing me, ‘Let’s go!’” Men of prayer don’t run ahead of God by trying to deal with all the endless negative possibilities facing you down the road. They are just that . . . possibilities (Mark 10:27).
Men Praying – Authentic Manhood
The average male has only two confidants, including his spouse and a family member. Since most men are overworked, over-committed, and over-distracted, they don’t always feel victorious in regards to overcoming obstacles. Therefore, it is imperative that men pray with and for one another — strengthening each other (Proverbs 27:17). Rick, Jim, and the apostle Paul all realized authentic manhood accepts the need for God’s intervention and help.
Through prayer, every man obtains a vision of biblical masculinity that relates to their own lives and issues. Through faith, God provides the practical “how-to’s” for real-life. Men of prayer:
- Accept responsibility for their actions (Psalm 32).
- Lead courageously against opposition (
- Receive God’s reward for obeying Him (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).
Why Pray?
1 John DeMarco. “Live Longer and Prosper.” New Man Jan/Feb 2007: 19.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
– We have all
sinned
and deserve God’s judgment.
God
, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him.
Jesus
, the creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He
died
for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was
buried
, and
rose from the dead
according to the
Bible
. If you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your
Savior
, declaring, “
Jesus is Lord
,” you will be saved from
judgment
and spend eternity with God in heaven.
What is your response?
Yes, today I am deciding to follow JesusYes, I am already a follower of JesusI still have questions
www.allaboutprayer.org
May I be a man.
Whose confidence comes from the depth of my giving.
Who understands that vulnerability is my greatest strength.
Who creates space rather than dominates it.
Who appreciates listening more than knowing.
Who seeks kindness over control.
Who cries when the grief is too much.
Who refuses the slap, the gun, the choke,
the insult, the punch.
May I not be afraid to get lost.
May I cherish touch more than performance.
And the experience more than getting there.
May I move slowly not abruptly.
May I be brave enough to share my fear and shame.
And gather the other men to do the same.
May I stop pretending and
open the parts of me that have long been numb.
May I cherish, respect and love my mother.
May the resonance of that love translate
into loving all women and living things.
Love.
—Eve Ensler
To watch a short film by Tony Stroedbel of the “Man Prayer” being recited in a dozen languages (with subtitles) by a multiracial, multigeneraltional group of men and boys go to breakthrough.tv/video/man-prayer-words-by-eve-ensler/
voicemalemagazine.org
