How to Fight Addiction with Scripture

Fighting Addiction with Scripture

Fighting addiction with Scripture can be done by following these Christian 12 Steps:

Step 1

Admit that you need help with your addiction because it is written:
It is no longer I who do it but it is the sin that lives in me. For I know that nothing good lives inside my flesh because the will is present in me but how to do what is good I am able. For the good that I want to do, I do not do but I do the evil I do not want to do. So if I do what I do not want to do, it is not I who does it but the sin that lives in me. (Romans 7:17-20)

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

Step 2

Believe that God through His Son Jesus Christ can help you overcome this addiction because it is written:

With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

God’s grace is sufficient for me because His strength is made perfect in my weakness. (Adapted 2 Corinthians 12:7-9) 

God did not send His Son to condemn the world. He sent Him so that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17)

Step 3

Decide to follow Jesus so that you can receive His help by getting saved. To do this, Say with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that when He died for our sins, God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

After getting saved ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit because it is written:

When an unclean spirit leaves a person it goes through dry places looking for a place to rest. When it does not find any, it says, “I will return from where I came from.” When it comes back, it finds it swept and in order. It then goes and takes 7 other spirits which are more wicked than itself and they enter that person to live in him and the last state of that person is worse than the first. (Luke 11:24-26)

Therefore ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit so that when you expel any evil spirits associated with your addiction, if they try to come back to control your life again, they will find the Holy Spirit dwelling in your body which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) 

To do this you can pray, Heavenly Father I ask You in the name of Jesus to fill me with your Holy Spirit since it is written that if we ask, it will be given and if we ask You for the Holy Spirit, you will give Him to those who ask. (Luke 11:9-12)

Step 4

Decide to examine yourself and write down your sins because it is written:

Let us examine ourselves and return to the Lord. (Lamentations 3:40)

Step 5

Confess your sins to God and to another human being because it is written:

If we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just and He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wrongdoing. (1 John 1:9)

Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. (James 5:16) 

If you do not have someone you can trust you can confess them anonymously online for example for example by Contacting Us.

Step 6 

Receive God's forgiveness after confessing your sins to Him because it is written: 

As far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed my sins from me. (Adapted Psalm 103:12)

To receive God's forgiveness, simply believe that He has forgiven you even if you do not feel forgiven.

To help you feel forgiven, you can pray, Father God I thank you because You are good and ready to forgive. You are also abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You (Psalm 86:5) like I do today and I thank You for forgiving me of my sins. 

You can also remind yourself of If your heart condemns you, God is greater than your heart and He knows all things (Adapted 1 John 3:20) whenever thoughts of condemnation enter your mind after you have confessed your sins to God. 

Step 7

Ask God for help and seek for ways to overcome all your character defects like anger, bitterness, complaining, criticism, guilt, impatience, low self-esteem, negativity, and resentment because it is written:

Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you will find. (Matthew 7:7)

To help you deal with anger you can read Christian Anger Management by Dr. Miriam Kinai.

To help you deal with guilt and condemnation you can read How to Fight Condemnation with Bible Verses by Dr. Miriam Kinai.

To help you deal with impatience you can read How to Fight Impatience with Bible Verses by Dr. Miriam Kinai.

To help you deal with low self-esteem you can read How to Fight for your Self Esteem with Bible Verses by Dr. Miriam Kinai.

To help you deal with self-hatred you can read How to Fight for Self Love with Bible Verses by Dr. Miriam Kinai.

To help you deal with pride you can read How to Fight Pride with Bible Verses by Dr. Miriam Kinai.

Step 8

Write down all the people you have wronged for example by stealing to buy the addictive substance or by using your employer's time to surf websites that feed your addiction because it is written:

If you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and you remember that a person has something against you, leave your gift in front of the altar and go to make peace with that person and then come back and offer your gift to God. (Matthew 5:23-24)

Step 9

Decide how you will right the wrongs you have done to those people because it is written:

If you are about to offer your gift to God at the altar and you remember that a person has something against you, leave your gift in front of the altar and go to make peace with that person and then come back and offer your gift to God. (Matthew 5:23-24)

As you do this keep in mind that when compensating people for the harm you have caused them is best to give them four times what they have lost through your actions. We can see this from Zacchaeus who told Jesus, If I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I will restore it to them fourfold. (Luke 19:8)

King David also declared that the rich man who had slaughtered the poor man's lamb for his guest should also Restore fourfold for the ewe lamb. (2 Samuel 12:6)

Therefore if you have stolen $1000 to enable your addiction, make an effort to pay back $4000. 

If the wrong that you did not involve money, estimate the monetary value of the harm you caused the way a Judge in a Court of law would calculate a pain and suffering settlement. As you do so, ask God's Holy Spirit to guide you in this matter. 

If the person you harmed with your words or deeds has died or moved or if trying to contact them to right the wrong would cause them more harm, do the good deed to someone dealing with an addiction. For example, you can decide to give the money to an organization which helps people fight addiction.

Step 10

Commit to examining your thoughts, words, and actions each day because it is written: 

Let each person examine their own work so that they will rejoice in themselves alone and not in another for each person shall bear their own load. (Galatians 6:4-5)

To do this:

1. Monitor your thoughts and replace all addiction related thoughts by thinking on Scriptures that neutralize those thoughts.

For example, if thoughts of engaging in sexual immorality enter your mind, neutralize them by thinking/meditation on My body is not for sexual immorality. It is for the Lord. (1 Corinthians 6:13)

2. Monitor your words and stop speaking any addiction related words. Replace them by confessing Scriptures that negates your specific addiction. 

For example, if you find yourself talking about looking at immoral pictures confess I will not look at anything evil. (Psalm 101:3)  

Another awesome Bible verses that you can use a Christian meditation and affirmation to fight all types of addiction is God is faithful. He will not allow me to be tempted more than I can bear because with each temptation there will always be a way of escape. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

3. Monitor your actions and stop engaging in any addiction related behavior. Replace those behaviors with activities like exercising. 

Physical exercise is a great activity to overcome any addiction because it can be done during the time you engaged in the addictive behavior. It can also be done alone if you find that you have lost all your friends after you stopped engaging in the addictive behavior. Physical exercise is also great for reducing symptoms like stress that may develop after ceasing to engage in the addictive behavior. 

Therefore begin a simple exercise program. This can involve stretching, aerobic and weight bearing exercises. If you have been following a sedentary lifestyle, consult your doctor first before you begin exercising. 

Step 11

Commit to continuing to communicate with God each day since it is written: 

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Combine this with reading the Bible each day so that you can know how He wants you to live and ensure you do as it says for we are to be Be doers of the Word and not just hearers and thereby deceiving yourself. (James 1:22)

Commit to also going to a Bible teaching Church on Sundays for we are told, Do not forsake gathering together with other believers. (Hebrews 10:25)

Step 12

Commit to helping another person who is struggling with an addiction because it is written:

If a person is caught up in any type of wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore that person with a spirit of gentleness making sure that you yourself are not tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

I suggest that you also read How to Fight Addiction with Bible Verses by Dr. Miriam Kinai.