The following is an excerpt from, “Throw off Pornography”, the 4th book in the “Lord of My Life” series. You can download the complete book for free through Amazon Kindle, Apple Books or Barnes & Noble. You can also order the paperback version through the Amazon bookstore. Find direct links for all of these at ktfproductions.com under the store tab. Visit every week and receive weekly excerpts January through April of 2024.
RESET TO FACTORY SETTINGS
Not all of us initially experimented with pornography for the same reasons. Some of us may have begun using pornography and masturbation as a coping mechanism. The supernatural pleasure of porn use can mask the pain we feel from either our past or present. Others may have been exposed to porn at a young age and over time, have become habitual users of it. In either case, if we are addicted to pornography and masturbation, the experience has become a kind of drug that physiologically affects our brain. The longer we use the more entrenched it becomes. Our brain rewires itself. Psychologically speaking, the saying, “neurons that fire together wire together”, is true. Our habitual porn use is a super stimulus that creates a neurochemical cocktail. We become addicted. And addiction is difficult to escape. However, with the help of the Holy Spirit our brain can be rewired. The Holy Spirit can reset our brain to factory settings, so to speak. He can do what we can’t.
SPIRITUAL BRAINWASHING
Constant exposure to pornography and masturbation has caused us to become dependent on the pleasure response it provides. As a result, we have become enslaved by it. Our mind and our thoughts have been hijacked almost as if we are no longer controlling our desires. We have allowed the darkness of sin and thoughts of sexual immorality to hold us captive. To truly be free, we need the Holy Spirit to wash our brain with what is holy and good. We need him to rewire our brain so that we are no longer captive to our pattern of habitual sin. Do you believe he can do that? I do. We should never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans chapter 8, verse 11 says:
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Think about that. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you and me. The same Spirit behind all the miracles Jesus and his disciples performed, the same Spirit who works in concert with the Father and Son, and the same Spirit who knows everything about us lives inside of us. Because that is true rewiring our brain sounds quite doable, does it? He is completely capable of washing our brain with his cleansing power. We can indeed be freed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke, chapter 1, verse 37 reminds us:
For nothing is impossible with God.
Do you believe that? Do you believe that he can rewire your brain, resetting it to factory settings? If you do, then I encourage you to pray for him to do just that. During your daily prayers, pray that he will wash your brain. Pray that he will cleanse it. Know that he will. After all, he made us. He knows the workings of his creation. He made the blueprints. He is the author of the schematics. God wants us to be free. There should be no doubt in your mind that this is his will for you. So, when you pray in this way, you are praying in agreement with the Holy Spirit. He wants us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” It is his desire that we “throw off [our] old sinful nature and [our] former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.” (Ephesians 4:22 NLT).
So, allow the Holy Spirit to wash your brain. According to the dictionary, “Brainwashing is said to reduce its subject’s ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes, values, and beliefs”. Instead of being brainwashed negatively, we need to be brainwashed by the Holy Spirit. We need to invite him to reduce our ability to think independently and rely on him to rewire our thinking. We need to allow him to introduce new thoughts and ideas into our minds, and to change our attitudes by refining our values and beliefs. We need a holy brainwashing. I encourage you to think about what life would be like with a cleansed, rewired brain. Think about what it would mean to have holy thinking drive your thoughts and not lustful, pornographic thinking. He is the answer. Brainwashing is a process. Though he can, it is unlikely that the Holy Spirit will rewire our brain overnight. But with a daily cleansing, our mind, and in turn our heart will change more into his likeness.
I’ve begun the habit of praying that the Holy Spirit wash my brain, that he reset my mind to right thinking. I ask it in his name. As John, chapter 14, verse 14 says:
You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
So, I encourage you to pray, “Lord Jesus I know that you want what is best for me. I know that it is your will for me to be set free from pornography and masturbation. So, I know that I’m praying according to your will and not mine alone. You said that if I ask for anything in your name you will do it. I’m asking Lord. Please rewire my brain. Wash my mind. Cleanse my thinking by the power of your Holy Spirit and free me from the power of pornography and masturbation. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen”. Pray it. Believe it. Have faith that he will change you and keep asking until he does. God is our good Father. He wants what is best for us. He does not want us to be shackled with pornography. And he can free us. After all, Romans chapter 12, verse 2 reminds us:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Let the Holy Spirit renew our mind. Only then can we test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.