Praying for Self Control

“A man without self control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28)

The walls of a city – in the Ancient Near East – were the primary means of defense. On the tops of these walls stood watchmen who were enlisted to warn the city of any imminent dangers or threats. Thus, to lose a wall or have one penetrated – especially without warning – was a dangerous occasion.

When the Jews returned from Babylon, one of the first building project were the walls of Jerusalem, because Nehemiah knew that the citizens of Jerusalem would feel safe from other invaders if the walls were rebuilt. The walls would represent to them their own trust in God as their ultimate protector.

For the Christian, our wall of defense against any sin, Jerry Bridges writes in The Practice of Godliness, is self-control. He defines self-control as “the exercise of inner strength under the direction of sound judgment that enables us to do, think, and say the things that are pleasing to God” (pg. 153). When we are self-controlled, we keep our desires “at bay.”

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23). Christians are able to self-controlled. The Spirit gives us that ability once we come to Christ. In fact, when we come to Christ for salvation, we are pledging to be self-controlled (Luke 9:23).

When we abandon all hope that we can resist sin, it’s like we are tearing down the walls around our hearts and inviting the Devil in. No one makes us sin. We are the watchmen of our own souls, and a lack of self-control is the means by which we rip the walls of defense (I Corinthians 10:13) away from our own hearts.

How can we grow in self-control? Answering that question would require making a lengthy list, but I can make one suggestion what you can do right now: don’t believe that self-control is fueled by yourself. In other words, if you want to grow in self-control, learn to rely on Someone else. That Someone being God.

Paul said in II Corinthians 9:8 that “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” In short, pray for self-control. Pray before you know you will be tempted. Pray during the temptation. Pray, pray, pray. Pray that the love of Christ will control you (II Cor 5:14).