A Disciplined Devotional Practice

Free resource to share with counselees

May 06, 2022

This season of Lent was probably the most meaningful and moving for me. I felt led to the classic devotional The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a’ Kempis, a Dutch monk of the 1400’s. I also increased Bible reading to both morning and evening, taking in heavy doses of the Gospels. As for fasting, I stayed away from the news.

So during this season, it truly seemed God was speaking clearly. His presence, at times, was keenly felt.

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For someone seeking freedom from sexual addiction, a season of disciplined and focused devotional practices can have a significant impact. Certainly, overcoming is not as simple as reading more and praying harder. But if one’s heart is aimed toward a deeper connection with God, it makes a significant difference.

As mentioned in the last blog, change is most possible when we deepen our connection with both God and a small group of fellow travelers. And so in Pure Hearted, I included a Divine Office for Sexual Strugglers.

What kind of office?

Sometimes referred to as a “daily office”, the practice is simply a schedule of daily prayers, creeds, and scriptures to be used both morning and evening. Yes, I know this is likely not part of your upbringing. It may seem as crazy to some as my reading the writings of a 15th Century monk for Lent. But if one stretches a bit by taking on this discipline with a heart seeking after God, it can truly connect us more deeply.

As I did research for Pure Hearted, one former counselee said he found the divine office laid out in Peter Scazerro’s Emotionally Healthy Spirituality to be liberating. And so I designed a divine office which included creeds shaped by the theology of sexuality in Into the Light: Healing Sexuality in Today’s Church. As for the scriptures, they correspond with the flow of the lessons in Pure Hearted. The prayers for morning and evening point one toward God for cleansing and for strength regarding sexual struggles.

When field testing the materials for Pure Hearted, one participant said his longest stretch of freedom from porn addiction came about as he was using this divine office.

So feel free to cut and paste this divine office and give to those who are seeking freedom. Perhaps it will encourage them to buy Pure Hearted and begin a journey with some friends.

Out of their comfort zone? Yeah, I get it. But six years ago, I used a modified divine office offered by Seedbed Publishing. At that time, I had one of the most powerful ministry experiences ever. It seemed the disciplined practice positioned me in God’s presence for transformation and greater anointing.

When I was a kid, I was told Catholics were going to hell. After all, they prayed to Mary, kept Jesus on the cross, and confessed sins to priests instead of to God. In fact, Grandma Ongley was certain the election of JFK signaled that the Catholics were out to take over the government.

Not sure how she would feel about my Lenten practices. Imbibing a Catholic classic? Dangerous! And avoiding the news? How will you know whether the Catholics are using President Biden’s faith for political gain?!

My grandma can rest in peace. I’m not corrupted by reading a’ Kempis. And the Catholics are certainly not looking to the President for much of anything!

The Divine Office for Sexual Strugglers

(Excerpted from Pure Hearted: Banding Together for Sexual Wholeness. Seedbed 2021.)

The Divine Office (or Daily Office) is an ancient devotional practice to consistently connect with God. Some sexual addicts have found this extremely liberating.

All perfectionists, please note: This is about connection, not completion. It’s merely a tool for you to connect more fully with God. If you don’t complete the readings for a certain day, move on! Don’t get bogged down. You’re on a Path of growth, not in a Box of obligation.

Cycle One: A Vision for Wholeness

MORNING

Verse of Praise

Sunday: Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3

Monday: Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, King of the nations! Rev. 15:3

Tuesday: I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. Psalm 139:14

Wednesday: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Rev. 4:11

Thursday: You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Psalm 32:7

Friday: May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works . . . Psalm 104:31

Saturday: O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:1

Daily Morning Confession:

We ask your forgiveness, Redeeming Lord, for those moments in the night when our hearts were unguarded and wandered into forbidden zones. And we confess the sordidness of impure dreams. Cleanse us for the day before us. Open our hearts to receive your truth from the scriptures. We commit ourselves to your keeping for this day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Daily Creed

We believe in God the Father, the Maker of heaven and earth, who designed us as man and woman to reflect his image. We were made for connection with God and connection with each other. Sexual intimacy provides union with another, the knowing of another, and the possibility of creating others. We were designed to be relationally fulfilled, and sexual intimacy is simply one way to find that fulfillment. Because our genitals are the closest outward connection to the deepest part of our being, sexual touch is to be given and received, not taken or exploited, and only within the security of a covenant.

Scripture Readings (Read one chapter each morning.)

First Week: John 1-7

Second Week: Genesis 1-3; John 8-11

Third Week: John 12-16; Revelation 21-22

Prayer for Protection

Gracious God, our Enemy is persistent, our hearts are deceitful, and our longings are unending. Be our guard. Alert us when Satan has set his snares. Remind us of the costliness of sin. Assure us of your presence and unending love for us. May each member of our band stand firm in their faith, strengthened by your grace, and empowered by your Spirit. To you be the glory! Amen!

EVENING

I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety. Psalm 4:8

Confessions for the Day

Most High and Holy God: We have become a generation obsessed with sexual satiation. Forgive us for this day’s trespasses, when . . .

Our eyes have wandered too far and lingered too long;

Our lips have issued wrongful flirtations and sexual innuendo;

Our hands have reached for inappropriate touch;

Our fingers have clicked on forbidden links;

Our hearts have leaned into ungodly relationships.

Therefore, cleanse us by the blood of Jesus. Dust us off from evil entanglements. Renew and strengthen our deepest desire, which is to honor you with love and obedience. To you be the glory forever! Amen!

Evening Psalm (One each evening.)

First Week: Psalms 1; 2; 8; 18:1-24; 23; 27; 37:1-31

Second Week: Psalms 62; 65; 84; 86; 90; 91; 92

Third Week: Psalms 95; 100; 111; 114; 131; 138; 146

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank you, Lord God, for bringing us safely through this day. Thank you for family, friends and the members of my band. Protect us all from the Evil One and evil people. And grant us deep rest this night. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Cycle Two: A Perspective on Slip-Ups

MORNING

Verse of Praise

Sunday: O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Psalm 139:1-3

Monday: Though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand. Psalm 37:24

Tuesday: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

Wednesday: I say to the LORD, “you are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows . . .” Psalm 16:2, 4a

Thursday: I will render thank offerings to you. For you have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from falling, so that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalm 56:12b, 13

Friday: Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them. Psalm 32:6

Saturday: The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down. Psalm 145:14

Daily Morning Confession

Daily Creed

We believe the Fall greatly distorted our view of reality. Our sinful tendency toward sexuality is expressed in grasping and submitting: We grasp for what is not ours, or we submit to sexuality in idolatrous fashion to meet our needs. This is plainly seen in emotional affairs as the marital bond is adulterated by bonding with another.

God’s mission throughout history has been to restore a proper view of him and the world he has created. We find that fulfillment as we surrender our sexuality to Jesus Christ.

Scripture Readings

First Week: Genesis 37, 39; Proverbs 5; Judges 14, 15, 16; Proverbs 6

Second Week: 2 Samuel 11, 12, 13; Proverbs 7; 1 Corinthians 6, 7; 1 Thessalonians 4

Third Week: Deuteronomy 17:14-23; 1 Kings 10:26-11:13; Revelation 2, 3; Romans 7, 8

Prayer for Protection

EVENING

I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety. Psalm 4:8

Confessions for the Day

Most High and Holy God: We have become a generation obsessed with sexual satiation. Forgive us for this day’s trespasses, when . . .

Our eyes have wandered too far and lingered too long;

Our lips have issued wrongful flirtations and sexual innuendo;

Our hands have reached for inappropriate touch;

Our fingers have clicked on forbidden links;

Our hearts have leaned into ungodly relationships.

Evening Psalm

First Week: Psalms 6, 13, 31, 51, 55, 73, 142

Second Week: Psalms 18:25-50; 25; 32; 38; 57; 61; 94

Third Week: Psalms 97; 103; 121; 123; 125; 139; 143

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Cycle Three: A Promise of Freedom

MORNING

Verse of Praise

Sunday: I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1, 2

Monday: This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid. What can a mere mortal do to me? Psalm 56:9b-11

Tuesday: If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Romans 8:31b-32

Wednesday: In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10

Thursday: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 2 Corinthians 2:14

Friday: On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul. Psalm 138:3

Saturday: I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

Daily Morning Confession

Daily Creed

To redeem a world of grasping and idolatrous submission, Jesus emptied himself of the privileges of heaven and submitted to the plan of the Father. We live in a time between gardens characterized by “already and not yet”. Healing and restoration of sexual brokenness is already available, but not yet in all of its fullness. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must deny ourselves of the idolatrous responses of addiction and aversion, seek the healing God offers, and await the fulfillment of all things in the Garden of Paradise.

Scripture Readings

First Week: Isaiah 41; 42:1-9; 49:14-26; 53; 54; 61; 65:17-25

Second Week: Luke 10; 14; 15; 18; 19; 22:31-62; 23:26-24:12

Third Week: 1 Peter 1-5; 1 John 1 & 4

Prayer for Protection

EVENING

I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety. Psalm 4:8

Confessions for the Day

Most High and Holy God: We have become a generation obsessed with sexual satiation. Forgive us for this day’s trespasses, when . . .

Our eyes have wandered too far and lingered too long;

Our lips have issued wrongful flirtations and sexual innuendo;

Our hands have reached for inappropriate touch;

Our fingers have clicked on forbidden links;

Our hearts have leaned into ungodly relationships.

Evening Psalm

First Week: Psalms 4; 12; 14; 17; 24; 26; 28

Second Week: Psalms 34; 42; 50; 52; 53; 56; 60

Third Week: Psalms 80; 96; 105:1-22; 107; 112; 130; 147

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Cycle Four: A Vision for the Church

MORNING

Verse of Perspective

Sunday: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:35, 37

Monday: But they have conquered [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death. Revelation 12:11

Tuesday: The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Psalm 138:8

Wednesday: It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me. Colossians 1:28-29

Thursday: The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes. Psalm 19:7-8

Friday: I cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. Psalm 57:2

Saturday: But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace. Acts 20:24

Daily Morning Confession

Daily Creed

We believe in the Church universal, the Bride of Christ, even with all of its spots, wrinkles and blemishes. Despite these faults, the Church is the Body of Christ called to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus among the last, the least and the lost. A bruised and bleeding world waits for us to be a safe and healing sanctuary for all who are cloistered in closets of shame. The gates of hell are powerless against a united and equipped people of God.

We believe the Bible presents a consistent theology of sexuality. God’s template for sexual expression was shaped in the Garden of Eden, affirmed by the teachings of Jesus, redeemed at Calvary and will find its fulfillment in the Garden of Paradise. The boundaries for sexual behavior are clear: a lifelong loving bond that is monogamous, heterosexual and covenantal.

Scripture Readings

First Week: Acts 1-7

Second Week: Leviticus 18, 19, 20; Matthew 5, 6, 7; Ephesians 5

Third Week: Acts 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 1 Corinthians 9; 2 Corinthians 4

Prayer for Protection

EVENING

I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O LORD, make me lie down in safety. Psalm 4:8

Confessions for the Day

Most High and Holy God: We have become a generation obsessed with sexual satiation. Forgive us for this day’s trespasses, when . . .

Our eyes have wandered too far and lingered too long;

Our lips have issued wrongful flirtations and sexual innuendo;

Our hands have reached for inappropriate touch;

Our fingers have clicked on forbidden links;

Our hearts have leaned into ungodly relationships.

Evening Psalm

First Week: Psalms 3; 5; 9; 15; 16; 19; 20

Second Week: Psalms 21; 30; 33; 46; 63; 67; 71

Third Week: Psalms 75; 76; 82; 85; 88; 93; 98

Fourth Week: Psalm 108; 110; 116; 118; 133; 148; 150

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Taken from Pure Hearted: Banding Together for Sexual Wholeness. Seedbed Publishing 2021.

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