Is there any way I can ask God to take away my desires?

[pinkjess]

I have decided (not out of self-pity or temporary anger or spite lol) that I want to remain single for God's purposes. There are a lot of reasons why I would like to do this. But the problem is, I still get attracted to guys. I am currently going through an annoying time letting go of someone who God told me "no" to. I can't let go of it, and every time I ask God about it I get in trouble. I don't want to go through this for the next 40 years of my life. I just want to go God's way, and I personally feel it is to be single. Well, if that is true, what can I do when I get attracted to someone and they like me too? I hate that my flesh is dealing with this, it's really making me feel far from God.

 

[Goodbook]

You can fast if its your flesh thats troubling you.
The bible says to flee youthful lusts, so dont put yourself in the path of temptation.
If you have trouble letting go, ask elders for prayer and cutting of soul ties if youve gotten close to someobody whos not Gods will for you.

Tell yourself, YES, I can let go of it. Then release whoever it is to God and pray for that person as well. After that, the thought of whoever does not bother you anymore, thats what I did with one person. Its really up to God and if He wants you to marry He will arrange it, no problem. Bit its good to be single as well because its true singles really are closer to God.Jesus was single. Imagine if he was ministering with a wife and children in tow. HE couldnt go to all the places he could and reach so many people. He would have had to stay in Galilee.

 

[BrianJK]

Yes! Prayer and fasting are wonderful ways to subdue the flesh. Mediate on His word.

But keep in mind that if in the future God calls you to marry, it is no sin.

 

[citizenthom]

Scripture tells us that the gift of celibacy is one given from God. The people I know who apparently have this gift simply don't experience attraction to the opposite sex in any strong way, and they have been few and far between. Meanwhile I do know plenty of Christians who remained single well into adulthood and devoted themselves to service to God, but ultimately married and led fruitful and Godly married wives. Two of these people are my in-laws, one of whom (my mother-in-law) served for many years as a missionary abroad before meeting my father-in-law back home and settling down.

If you have normal human desires, that indicates to me that you have not necessarily been granted that gift. And that's fine. Your desires are normal and can themselves be directed towards God's purposes. You feel that God has told you "no" to a specific person, but that is just as likely to mean he has other plans for you right now and into the future. God told my wife and me both "no" a few times over the years before we both resolved other spiritual issues, and then we received a very strong "yes."

Focus on letting go of this specific relationship, and what plans God has for you in the immediate future.

 

[Greg J.]

God telling you "no" about someone is God steering you away from future pain and suffering. Do what he said. Find an alternative to what you wanted.

No matter what, you won't experience what you are now for the next 40 years of your life. You will change. In fact, there's no way to stop it.

I believe that your life would be less confusing and less of a struggle if you fasted twice a week in submission to the Lord and prayed 1+ hours a day. If that's too much, anything in that direction might help. It won't necessarily make your troubles go away, but it will bring more of God into your daily experience of life. For example, you may find your natural desires easier to manage and/or fears and anxieties will be reduced.

I didn't get the feeling you were tempted, but just in case: do not make a vow to help you with something. That is what Jesus was talking about here. You don't know what you will be like or your circumstances will be in the future. It is a self-serving, willful act, when you should be leaving the future in God's hands.

But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:34-37, 1984 NIV)

 

[Near]

What you're talking about takes work. I had trouble with letting go, but I knew I had to so at one point I prayed that God would just take away my desires. Well, it didn't work instantly after praying, so I did the next best thing. Let me just say first, that right now, I feel pretty great; like I'm winning the war, still fighting, but winning.
So, I've been listening to an audio bible every morning, and during all my work breaks, and at night, and my drives to and from work. I estimate that I'm getting about 2 and a half hours of the bible per day.
Keep your mind on things above.
Col 3:1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
So, I'd advise making this habit, because it's like a distraction from the desires of the world and flesh, a distraction that takes you away from the world, and into God's word. It's helped quite well so far.

 

[Kit Sigmon]

I have decided (not out of self-pity or temporary anger or spite lol) that I want to remain single for God's purposes. There are a lot of reasons why I would like to do this. But the problem is, I still get attracted to guys. I am currently going through an annoying time letting go of someone who God told me "no" to. I can't let go of it, and every time I ask God about it I get in trouble. I don't want to go through this for the next 40 years of my life. I just want to go God's way, and I personally feel it is to be single. Well, if that is true, what can I do when I get attracted to someone and they like me too? I hate that my flesh is dealing with this, it's really making me feel far from God.

Pinkjess: It seems to me you got so much going on in your life...I had to look over some of your other posts so I could
get a better idea of things.
I found this post from May 29, 2016:

"I am 22 years old trying to get my GED and then I plan on finding a job as a receptionist or bookkeeper afterwards. I don't see myself going to college because it is too expensive and I have to find a job to support myself as soon as possible because I still live my my dad. I would be willing to go to an online school or a community college for a certificate in order to get the job I want however. I get scared when I think of the fact that it is near impossible to support yourself if you are single or make minimum wage, which is most likely what I will end up making. I have no friends so roommates are not an option for me and since I am a single woman that makes safety a bigger issue. I have mental health issues and a pituitary tumor and possibly Lupus so finding a husband is out of the question as well. I have horrid social skills and I don't know any guys who would want to date a chick with health issues...plus I have personal issues to work out and I am not ready for that type of relationship. It's hard enough for me to make friends. Not that this bothers me...I know once I get out and have a job I may be able to make friends and become more social...it's just right now I have to find a plan to support myself. I am clueless and have no idea what to do. I have never had anyone sit beside me and explain to me these types of things. It feels like everyone just expects me to jump out into the waters and learn to swim myself. It sucks!

My dad is planning on moving in with his girlfriend next year in their own place and has talked about leaving the house we live in now but allow me and my brother to still live here if we can pay the bills.

I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any advice for me? What is the best thing for me to do right now? I am trying to get my GED this year...that will be the first step. What should I do after that?"

Pinkjess: It now be July 9, not even two months later; you are bogged down with all these problems, I can't see how it be you even got time to be a longing for someone that you say God told you "no" on, when you have so much to get done
before your dad moves on and you and your sibling be in the house and faced with paying bills.
This day be coming and it high time you an him wake up and be about getting prepared to be responsible
for yourselves and doing what a lot of us have to do...get a job and pay bills. There don't be no more time to be
sitting on the sidelines, you both got to grow up and do what the majority of us be doing already, taking care of
ourselves.
You got a GED to earn, a job to find, find a church, work on personal problems etc.

As for the health issues that were mentioned in other posts of yours, I do believe I said to stick with what is true,
and don't be self diagnosing, the doctors say that nothing be showing up in the tests, go with that. Manage
your stress and be renewing your mind on scripture on regularly.

Then in another post you say something about not going to church? That needs to be corrected, fellowship
and being taught the bible is very important. You need to be in regular fellowship with other believers and
learning the bible.

I read other posts of yours tonight and you be down on yourself, such feelings can mess with
your thoughts and you end up believing something that not be true.
Each of us is of value, so much so that Jesus came down to this earth and paid our sin debt at Calvary.
You are of value, you are worthy of being loved and it's not impossible for you to find someone who
will want to marry you.

Nick Vuijicic be a man born without any arms and legs, but he got to know Jesus as his savior and he be
radiating that joy! The Lord isn't limited by our health, personal issues, etc.. with God the impossible become possible!
Nick believed nobody would want him, his life was meaningless etc...was any of that really true? NO!
God made the difference! Nick is married and is the father of two children, his story is available online, you
can check it out for yourself... http://www.nickvujicic.com/

Living on minimum wage, is very possible...I did it for many years and next year me and my husband will be
living on his pension. We learned how to get by, you can get books from the library on budgeting, growing a
garden, canning and preserving food. There's recipe books and books on social skills, communication, how to
build friendships and all that.
The resources be there for not only for you but for all of us who want to learn. They got step by step guides
on how to do all sorts of things.
Now those books won't jump off the shelf and walk to your house, you got to go get them.
You learned how to use a computer an access the internet, you can learn other things too.
You be smarter than the average bear, so don't play you don't know how to do things...cause at sometime
in your life you got some schooling and you know about there being libraries and books on how to do things etc.

You not being in church or not being in fellowship with other believers isn't good, it is important that you get yourself into
meeting regularly with other believers, even if you have them come over to your house and do bible studies... or do
one on one mentoring...it's a place to start at least, since you be socially awkward or just inexperienced being
around others.

Isolating yourself does more harm than good, and that seems to be showing in the way you write about yourself in the post I included above and also in your other posts too.
You got health issues, but it not only be you with health issues...I got friends here who be just as
plagued by poor health but they don't let that stop them.

Now that it's July, How things be at this time? are you working on your GED now?
How is the job search going? Are you back in church or do you have a bible teacher
or Christian mentor coming to your home?

 

[pinkjess]

Pinkjess: It seems to me you got so much going on in your life...I had to look over some of your other posts so I could
get a better idea of things.
I found this post from May 29, 2016:

"I am 22 years old trying to get my GED and then I plan on finding a job as a receptionist or bookkeeper afterwards. I don't see myself going to college because it is too expensive and I have to find a job to support myself as soon as possible because I still live my my dad. I would be willing to go to an online school or a community college for a certificate in order to get the job I want however. I get scared when I think of the fact that it is near impossible to support yourself if you are single or make minimum wage, which is most likely what I will end up making. I have no friends so roommates are not an option for me and since I am a single woman that makes safety a bigger issue. I have mental health issues and a pituitary tumor and possibly Lupus so finding a husband is out of the question as well. I have horrid social skills and I don't know any guys who would want to date a chick with health issues...plus I have personal issues to work out and I am not ready for that type of relationship. It's hard enough for me to make friends. Not that this bothers me...I know once I get out and have a job I may be able to make friends and become more social...it's just right now I have to find a plan to support myself. I am clueless and have no idea what to do. I have never had anyone sit beside me and explain to me these types of things. It feels like everyone just expects me to jump out into the waters and learn to swim myself. It sucks!

My dad is planning on moving in with his girlfriend next year in their own place and has talked about leaving the house we live in now but allow me and my brother to still live here if we can pay the bills.

I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any advice for me? What is the best thing for me to do right now? I am trying to get my GED this year...that will be the first step. What should I do after that?"

Pinkjess: It now be July 9, not even two months later; you are bogged down with all these problems, I can't see how it be you even got time to be a longing for someone that you say God told you "no" on, when you have so much to get done
before your dad moves on and you and your sibling be in the house and faced with paying bills.
This day be coming and it high time you an him wake up and be about getting prepared to be responsible
for yourselves and doing what a lot of us have to do...get a job and pay bills. There don't be no more time to be
sitting on the sidelines, you both got to grow up and do what the majority of us be doing already, taking care of
ourselves.
You got a GED to earn, a job to find, find a church, work on personal problems etc.

As for the health issues that were mentioned in other posts of yours, I do believe I said to stick with what is true,
and don't be self diagnosing, the doctors say that nothing be showing up in the tests, go with that. Manage
your stress and be renewing your mind on scripture on regularly.

Then in another post you say something about not going to church? That needs to be corrected, fellowship
and being taught the bible is very important. You need to be in regular fellowship with other believers and
learning the bible.

I read other posts of yours tonight and you be down on yourself, such feelings can mess with
your thoughts and you end up believing something that not be true.
Each of us is of value, so much so that Jesus came down to this earth and paid our sin debt at Calvary.
You are of value, you are worthy of being loved and it's not impossible for you to find someone who
will want to marry you.

Nick Vuijicic be a man born without any arms and legs, but he got to know Jesus as his savior and he be
radiating that joy! The Lord isn't limited by our health, personal issues, etc.. with God the impossible become possible!
Nick believed nobody would want him, his life was meaningless etc...was any of that really true? NO!
God made the difference! Nick is married and is the father of two children, his story is available online, you
can check it out for yourself... http://www.nickvujicic.com/

Living on minimum wage, is very possible...I did it for many years and next year me and my husband will be
living on his pension. We learned how to get by, you can get books from the library on budgeting, growing a
garden, canning and preserving food. There's recipe books and books on social skills, communication, how to
build friendships and all that.
The resources be there for not only for you but for all of us who want to learn. They got step by step guides
on how to do all sorts of things.
Now those books won't jump off the shelf and walk to your house, you got to go get them.
You learned how to use a computer an access the internet, you can learn other things too.
You be smarter than the average bear, so don't play you don't know how to do things...cause at sometime
in your life you got some schooling and you know about there being libraries and books on how to do things etc.

You not being in church or not being in fellowship with other believers isn't good, it is important that you get yourself into
meeting regularly with other believers, even if you have them come over to your house and do bible studies... or do
one on one mentoring...it's a place to start at least, since you be socially awkward or just inexperienced being
around others.

Isolating yourself does more harm than good, and that seems to be showing in the way you write about yourself in the post I included above and also in your other posts too.
You got health issues, but it not only be you with health issues...I got friends here who be just as
plagued by poor health but they don't let that stop them.

Now that it's July, How things be at this time? are you working on your GED now?
How is the job search going? Are you back in church or do you have a bible teacher
or Christian mentor coming to your home?

Wow thank you so much for all that.

I actually am going to take the first test of the GED exam next week. I know I will ace it because English is my best subject. After that I plan on studying each subject until I feel ready to pass it. I still haven't gone back to church but I have been wanting to...I just don't feel ready yet as far as my social anxiety goes. I'm too scared to go. I plan on finding a job once I get my GED finished.

I really appreciate the fact you took time to go through my past posts to get a better picture of how I am doing. I feel really loved in that. Thank you.

 

[Greg J.]

You could go to church and sit at the back. If anyone talks to you, just be polite but give them short answers (e.g., "yes" or "no"), and the conversation will be over soon. You shouldn't feel any pressure to give money to the church or even to go up for communion. Where you're at right now, just going to church is the victory.

pinkjess, as I've written twice before, because of the quantity of your struggles, the best advice I think anyone can give you is to connect to an older, wiser Christian who has struggled with mental illness herself (that you can talk to weekly about your current struggles). If it is hard for you to do anything, then make this your only goal. I suggest asking the pastor, since he will know some people that it would be good to talk to. (I'll stop suggesting that after this post and trust that you understand that you have decided not to do this.)

 

[Razare]

I have decided (not out of self-pity or temporary anger or spite lol) that I want to remain single for God's purposes. There are a lot of reasons why I would like to do this. But the problem is, I still get attracted to guys. I am currently going through an annoying time letting go of someone who God told me "no" to. I can't let go of it, and every time I ask God about it I get in trouble. I don't want to go through this for the next 40 years of my life. I just want to go God's way, and I personally feel it is to be single. Well, if that is true, what can I do when I get attracted to someone and they like me too? I hate that my flesh is dealing with this, it's really making me feel far from God.

We can repent of pride, and this makes it easier to resist and not have evil desires.

But no, I don't know what to do about it myself. I plan on marrying but I stumble.

In the Bible I see the answers to all these problems of sexual purity.

- Do not live in a heathen culture, live among Christians only, brothers and sisters of the faith, do not bring into that group teachings / media content from the world.

- Men and Women should be married, unless they are committed to God and forgo that. Men and women who marry should marry at a young age, and be committed to that partner for life.

- People who bring sexually impure teachings into the church should be kicked out of it and ostracized. That friend who claims to be a Christian, but says it is ok to sleep with someone before marriage because "everyone does it"... well technically, that person would not be permitted to fellowship that well with believers without repenting what they believe.

So here we are. Christians watch and promote television, live in heathen culture, and we tolerate those among us as "Christian" who live like the world.

Don't ask me what the solution is. Until I do all 3 things I am part of the problem too, just like other Christians are.

 

[bhayes]

Scripture tells us that the gift of celibacy is one given from God. The people I know who apparently have this gift simply don't experience attraction to the opposite sex in any strong way, and they have been few and far between. Meanwhile I do know plenty of Christians who remained single well into adulthood and devoted themselves to service to God, but ultimately married and led fruitful and Godly married wives. Two of these people are my in-laws, one of whom (my mother-in-law) served for many years as a missionary abroad before meeting my father-in-law back home and settling down.

If you have normal human desires, that indicates to me that you have not necessarily been granted that gift. And that's fine. Your desires are normal and can themselves be directed towards God's purposes. You feel that God has told you "no" to a specific person, but that is just as likely to mean he has other plans for you right now and into the future. God told my wife and me both "no" a few times over the years before we both resolved other spiritual issues, and then we received a very strong "yes."

Focus on letting go of this specific relationship, and what plans God has for you in the immediate future.

I think this is really good. You feel attracted to the opposite sex because thats the way God created it. Theres a difference between lust and attraction.

 

[Goatee]

I have decided (not out of self-pity or temporary anger or spite lol) that I want to remain single for God's purposes. There are a lot of reasons why I would like to do this. But the problem is, I still get attracted to guys. I am currently going through an annoying time letting go of someone who God told me "no" to. I can't let go of it, and every time I ask God about it I get in trouble. I don't want to go through this for the next 40 years of my life. I just want to go God's way, and I personally feel it is to be single. Well, if that is true, what can I do when I get attracted to someone and they like me too? I hate that my flesh is dealing with this, it's really making me feel far from God.

Problems like this are all around us. As a married man i have a massive issue myself of Adultery. Attraction, temptations, lusts etc. All part and parcel of the devils plans to pull us away from Jesus.

It is a nightmare to stay pure and sin free. I fight this all the time! So hard to beat.

But, doesn't mean i will give up and give in to the devil! No! However many times i fall, i know that Jesus is there holding out His hand of Mercy.

Desires of the flesh are 'human' and fighting them can be very hard indeed. I have failed multiple times. Can God forgive me any more times? Can i be stronger next time and say no? Only with Gods Grace can we hope to be sin free.

God bless you

 

[Cernunnos]

Relax. . . . if it isn't God's will for you to be single, He will sort that out. If it is, you will grow comfortable with it. You have made a decision, which at the moment seems Godly and reasonable to you. The choice may or may not be permanent Sounds like a good choice for this season of life, there will be other seasons each with their own "right answer"

 

[John Davidson]

God told me "no"

God talks to you?

 

[Mudinyeri]

I'm confused. You personally decided to remain celibate but you still have "desires" which may be a sign (from God) that you are not intended to remain celibate. Consequently, you feel far from God.

"Better to marry than to burn" comes to mind. If trying to be celibate makes you feel far from God how do you suppose you will better serve Him by remaining celibate?