Replacing Gluttony, Drunkenness and Bodily Harm with Discipline, Sobriety and Glorifying God in my Body

Put Off-Gluttony, Drunkenness and Bodily Harm

Proverbs 23:21

For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,

And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags

Proverbs 20:1

Wine is a mocker,

Strong drink is a brawler,

And whoever is led astray is not wise.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

16.  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

17.  If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.  For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Put On-Discipline, Sobriety

1 Corinthians 9:27  But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when, I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Proverbs 23:30-32

30.  Those who linger long at the wine,

Those who go in search of mixed wine.

31.  Do not look on the wine when it is red,

When it sparkles in the cup,

32.  At the last it bites like a serpent,

And stings like a viper.

1 Corinthians 6:20  For you were brought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

With both food and drink, it is important to treat your body as God's temple.  While going to an all-you-can-eat buffet is fine once in a while, doing it every day is harmful.  Obesity is on the rise every day and is one of the main causes of heart disease.  God wants everyone to eat in moderation and eat healthy.

This is the same with drinking.  I remember during my college years, I enjoyed going to parties and drinking to the point of inebriation.  This was not a wise thing to do because many times I regretted it in the morning.  Eventually I became wiser with the drinking.  Eventually I stopped altogether except for an occasional drink here or there.

Getting drunk is not a wise thing because it can lead to bad decisions.  It is not healthy since it kills brain cells and lead to addiction.  I know people who drink every day and they can't stop even if they wanted to.

Drinking and over eating are not the only two things that can cause bodily harm.  Other things like doing drugs, smoking and cutting yourself are all examples of bodily harm.  One way that I harm my body is I don't have a healthy diet.  I might wake up and grab a cup of coffee or two.  Then I will get so busy with activities around the house and by the time it comes to cook dinner, I will realize that I did not eat anything at all during the day.  I need to get in the habit or eating something for breakfast and lunch.  If I don't have time for that, then I have to eat healthy snacks throughout the day.

I found this pray at https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/Prayers-for-Quitting-Smoking.  This can be used for any type of activity that is causing bodily harm.  Replace the high-lighted words with whatever bodily harm causing habit that you are struggling with.

Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus, my Saviour and I thank You that He died to pay the price for my sins and to set me free from the power of sin and death. Lord, I particularly come to You today to seek Your face on this habit of smoking, a long-time habit that I have found so difficult to break.

Lord, I know that I am not condemned because of my smoking, nevertheless it is a habit that I truly want to break and have come to You to pray that You would give me Your grace and strength to help in this time of my need.

Lord, Your Word says that I can do all things through Christ Who gives me the strength, and I pray that You would indeed give me the strength to completely stop and also to remove the desire that I have to light up. Lord, I know that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and do not want this habit to be a master over my body and my will, but rather I want You alone to have first place in my life and within my body.

Give me the grace I pray, to enable me to stop this habit completely, and to have the desire to smoke eliminated from me. I will give You all the praise and glory, in Jesus' name,

Amen.