Jesus, use Study Three - The Resistance Courses to help me look at wrong things I am regularly allowing to enter into my life. Teach me that this has to do with three doors that are usually open to Satan all or most of the time. Show me that I have been trained by my body, the world, and the devil to believe that it is okay to allow these things into my life without resistance. Help me see that this is how the source of alcohol problems was able to get in.

Jesus, make it clear to me that God is against this open access to these particular things. He can see clearly how much damage these open doors are doing to my character, my circumstances, and my relationships. Teach me that God has a protective armor that He is going to help me put on. It will protect me from these damaging experiences. However, help me understand that this armor of God won’t stop anything I PURPOSEFULLY allow into my life.

Jesus, show me that God evaluates and judges one major thing as I go about my day. When I do something that is wrong, bad, or evil, the number one thing He considers is, did I WANT to do it? As long as I am making mistakes, He will keep my record with Him clean. But, if I willfully, purposely sin, I will have to go immediately to Him and repent. That means I have to tell Him I am sorry, that I never want to do it on purpose again, and then “do what it takes” to never yield to that sin again.

Jesus, it may not seem like I am allowing alcohol struggles to come into my thoughts and feelings on PURPOSE. But I, as a Christian, have new responsibilities and new possibilities. Jer 17:9-10 (NIV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” Teach me that whether or not I willfully did wrong, bad, or evil is a job that only God can decide. Help me take the wrong, bad, or evil word or deed to Him and let Him decide what my motive was.

Jesus, help me see that prior to me becoming a Christian, I WAS powerless to change certain things. I couldn’t change my desires, thoughts, reactions, patterns of life, feelings, or actions. But, because You helped me turned to God, He has given me freedom and power of choice. I can now CHOOSE what I want and DECIDE what I will allow into my life. He has given You to me as freedom and power to stop these root causes from coming in. All I have to do is learn how to yield to Jesus and He will put a stop to them; and, from then on I will be free from the control of alcohol issues.

Jesus, make it clear to me that if I DON’T WILLFULLY stop these things from coming in, I will forfeit the armor’s protection. You will be using this study to deal with closing these three doors. Show me that the key concept You will be dealing with is the fact that, as I grow in confidence in God’s ways, I will lose confidence in the other three ways of living life. I will lose confidence in the cravings of my body, my life-systems of the world, and the lying promises of the devil. Help me see that, that closes the doors to the root causes of alcohol difficulties.

Jesus, teach me that just because I have always done things a certain way doesn’t mean they are good for me. Just because I have gained some benefits from certain wrong, bad, or evil things doesn’t mean they aren’t doing great damage to me. Just because I haven’t been able to stop letting these things into my life doesn’t mean You can’t set me free from them. Even though I may have tried “everything” to stop allowing these things in, now I am trying You. You will keep these things out which will stop them from feeding my problem with alcohol.

Jesus, teach me how to put on the armor of financial, relational, emotional, physical, and spiritual protection that God provides. Teach me that the complete armor of God deals with external things that are trying to get in. Since it won’t stop anything I want to get in, I have to allow You to change my desires, my philosophies, my prayers, what I believe to be true, what I love, and what I put into action in my life.

Jesus, show me that Your armor of spiritual protection is preventative; but, I have to see that what I am allowing into my life is wrong. If I allow the Holy Spirit to speak to my conscience, those things that are CAUSING me to have trouble with alcohol will go away. If I allow the Bible to tell me what is wrong, bad, and evil then You will empower me to “do what it takes” to KEEP alcohol struggles out. Make it clear to me that I have to agree with my conscience, the Bible, and You so I can be convinced that these things should be resisted.

Jesus, teach me that the key concept You will be helping me look at in this study is the fact that God has counter parts (spiritual replacements). They will replace every wrong thing I am allowing to come into my life. Show me that these counter parts are opposite but more powerful replacements for the bad things I do to myself and to other people. Help me see that these bad things have been flowing into me and then through the words and actions of my body. They have come into me and have caused me to say and do things that are hurting me and those around me. Now I can yield to replacements that will protect me from damaging things I have been allowing into my life.

Jesus, show me that because I am suffering from the difficulties I am having with alcohol, this struggle is influencing most of the way I treat myself and the way I treat others. Show me that these counter parts from God are more powerful than the wrong I have been allowing into me.

Jesus, teach me that as the Holy Spirit speaks to my conscience, the Bible instructs my mind, and You give me power, I will be able to locate God’s replacement characteristics and allow Him to install them as armor. Then they will protect me from these thing flowing into me and flowing out of me against other people. I will be working together with my heavenly Father as I get the victory over each problem I face.

Jesus, teach me that the wonderful thing about God’s replacement characteristics is they form a protective shield around me. They are resistive attitudes and character traits that shield me from those things that were feeding my problems with alcohol issues. This will leave me with a whole new set of attitudes, desires, thoughts, feelings, actions, and words that resist all those things that have been hurting me.