Sin While Sleeping?! This is a serious issue!

[Isreal]

Hello,
I am a 20 year old male college student and I became a true practicing Christian in the beginning of my sophomore year. This doesn't mean just going to youth group or making sure to be nice to people on Sundays, No I really take to heart what it means to be Christian or a "follower of Christ" by following Christ. I refrain from all sin or at least try to. I'm not here to boast about what I have done because that would be prideful but rather I am here to discuss the struggles I have as a Christian.

The issue: As I have been trying to refrain from sin one of the areas of sin I struggle with is Lust that is hard to overcome. That means I never look at anything online that would be considered scandalous. I do not look on other women lustfully and take every thought and make it obedient to Christ 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretense that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." I have been pretty successful in the day time when I am awake to refrain from these sins. Granted I'm not saying I'm without sin because I do sin daily in my thoughts and confess them when I do. My problem is:

When I am asleep I masturbate unknowingly. Sometimes I wake up in the act and other times I wake up in the morning and reluctantly find out what happened.

This is a serious issue! Before I go to bed every night I tie my pajama pants really tight. I know I am not saved by what I do but that salvation is a free gift from God because of His mercy and love when he sent his son to die for our sins. Regardless I get depressed when this happens because I feel like a child who disappointed his father. I feel I make so much progress by refraining from sin and then fall. I know I don't do it on my own but with the strength of God. He is the rock upon which I build my foundation. I also know that He is always with me regardless of what I do and He always loves me the same.

What do I do to refrain from this Sin?! I need help please someone. I've prayed about it and asked for guidance but feel I haven't received any. I'm beginning to try fasting and continuous prayer but I am ashamed it has continued and do not want this lack of self control when I'm asleep to turn into fear of being asleep with others around. It's scary to think I don't have control of my body when I go to sleep. One last thing is that I do put on the armor of God every night before I sleep and every morning when I wake up. When I meditate on God I can feel his presence and warmth about me to be very comforting. No I have never heard his voice or had visions but I know He is all powerful, nothing is too great for Him!

I ask that you pray that God reveal a solution to you, if I do not see how He is revealing answers to me, maybe there are some others out there that are in a close relationship to God, if so I pray that you ask on my behalf for advice. Aside from that thank you for taking time out of your life to read about my problem. God bless!

 

[Denique Coelum]

I can see that that's a rather distressing problem...

I'm not sure what we can do about our actions when we're sleeping, since they're in essence involuntary. Nonetheless, it's unpleasant. I imagine that a sufferer of Tourette's syndrome must feel the same if they say something offensive without being able to help themselves.

I wouldn't be too concerned about it being sinful, Isreal. Clearly, you're doing everything you can to prevent it, and not letting those kind of thoughts enter your mind (which is more than I can say for myself, sadly). Beyond that, I'm not sure what can be done, except to continue to rely on God. I suppose it's the curious mechanics of the human body, which God has designed in His wisdom.

Perhaps thinking about it, worrying about it, is causing it to perpetuate. I've found that. If I'm having trouble resisting the temptation to do one thing or another, it brings it to mind, and the attractiveness of it grows. Of course, in your case, it's nothing to do with concious temptation, but perhaps if you stopped thinking about it, it might stop. That's easier said than done, but I'm sure you're in a position where you can take your worries to the Lord and leave them there. It could be as simple as that, maybe? Just leaving it with Him and not trying to tackle it yourself.

I hope that helps, or that you'll arrive at a solution in time.

By the way, I admire your candidness in posting here. Clearly, this is an embarrassing issue for you, but you felt able to bring it out into the open here. Good on you! I sincerely hope that you're helped with this, and don't be put off by people's unpleasant and totally unamusing trolling. We're here to help.

 

[Isreal]

Thank you Denique I agree %100 with your advice about bringing it to the Lord. I have been doing that more frequently when I catch myself judging people or just letting bad thoughts fall and sit in my mind like a bad seed. God's amazing and always weeds them out when I ask. I also appreciate the fact that despite all of your duties in your life you took the time to find my thread and reply to it. Is there anything you'd like prayer for? My name is Gabriel by the way I figure since I know your name (or at least I think its Denique) then you might as well know mine. I have been truly blessed these past few weeks in being able to really experience God's presence, a presence that I understand has always been there but I only now have experienced it. I also have been able to feel the armor of God on me all of the time praise God! So if you'd like me to pray something as simple as the armor of God over you or anything I'd be glad to (if it's in God's will of course ha what I've experienced is by all means because of Him and not me). God bless =)

 

[Denique Coelum]

I have that too, all the time, bad thoughts, distractions. Yet, as you say, God can root them out. We all have these things, but what makes us overcomers is how we respond to them, by asking for God's help. I find that Satan constantly tries to occupy me with how awful I am, so that I get depressed thinking about the things I've said and done and thought and think it's hopeless to even try to resist! But it's never hopeless, because we have a resource outside of ourselves. I struggle a lot, from day to day, but on balance, I think I'm overcoming, thanks be to God.

Pleased to meet you, Gabriel! 'Denique Coelum' is my nom de plume, and also my family motto. In actual fact, my name is Grant.

It's always a pleasure to take a moment to offer what little help I can. I know that when I'm in similar situations, the kindness of strangers (particularly strangers who're brothers and sisters in Christ) is very welcome. Furthermore, as Mr Darby once said regarding the love of his fellow Christians towards him:

"I feel brethren, deeply, all your love towards me, and rejoice to feel it, not for my own sake only... but yet more because our common Master is honoured, and He rejoices in the prosperity of His people."

So, not only do you and I enjoy mutual benefit, there's pleasure for God in our helping each other in this or any other way.

Thank you for your kind offer of prayer, and I would appreciate your prayers very much for the sake of my family: my grandmother has suffered a stroke and has been hospitalised and my uncle has been the victim of a botched operation, and is currently undergoing emergency surgery to repair his punctured oesophagus, all in the space of a few days. It is the Lord's timing when He takes His own to be with Himself... but we still pray for healing and comfort for them that they might be preserved in body, and those of us who remain, bereft.

It's a wonderfully comforting thing to be aware of His presence, isn't it? Sadly, I have to admit that I'm not overly familiar with that feeling, but, it's wonderful when I do experience it. The full armour of God, His complete provision. No other army in this world is so well-protected and armed as God's!

God bless you too, Gabriel. :yes May we both prove His blessing to a greater degree, day by day.

 

[Pizzaguy]

Take this to the Lord in prayer, and leave it there. You are 20, back only a few generations, most of us were MARRIED at that age. I was married at 21 and remember what it was like.

Don't let this trip you up, you were created with hormones and various 'drives' or 'needs' - I am sure God knows how you are put together. ;)

 

[Isreal]

Thank you guys for your support. Grant I will pray for your Grandma and Grandpa. Pizza guy I really appreciate the advice and I realize (I think this relates to both posts) that when I ask for forgiveness I need to leave my sins at the Lord's feet. I know Satan likes to remind me of my sins constantly as he is called the accuser but that is just a lie that somehow God hasn't forgiven me. I know that He has forgiven me and I like to use scripture to strike back and cut deep into Satan's hopeless waste of a temptation with this verse:

Hebrews 8:12 "For I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more." (NIV)

How awesome is that?! When we ask for forgiveness God actually forgets our sins! So now I am working on forgetting mine and not letting the enemy suck me back into dwelling on them. I praise God for my brothers here you guys really have been helping me and I truly believe we all have something to offer with the gifts God has given us. Iron sharpen Iron amen!

 

[pHghost]

Hi Israel,

Some of this may be instinctual, hormonal. Even little children touch themselves in that area, yet their motivation is hardly the same as with a grown up person who knows what that means.

I think the important thing to remember is that sin is what we accept as our own. It is completely normal for us to be tempted in life -- a lot of times, when you see a beautiful woman, you find it impossible for certain thoughts not to crop up. But that in itself is not sin. It becomes sin as soon as you toy with that thought and do not reject it when it surfaces. In the same way, if you stop doing what you are when you wake up, because you realize it is wrong, God knows it and he rejoices to see someone so strong willed, because not all people would be able to stop at that moment -- their will is no match for their desire and the pleasurable feelings.

The fact that you bring up this issue yourself shows that you are repenting and are trying to do all you can -- and that is what matters a lot. God can see that you care about the relationship you have with him, and want to maintain it as pure as you can.

In terms of getting rid of temptation, I heard one monk talk about it once, and what he said was very interesting and has helped me a lot: once we let any kind of sin close to us, it opens up the gates for every other kind of temptation to torment us. One of the ways we often let sin close is by judging others, taking on the position that belongs to God alone. In Luke 6:37 (and also in other gospels) we read: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven." We often forget about this and pass judgment on others very easily. As a matter of fact, not judging others is one of the hardest things to do, it comes almost as second nature to us, but it is worth trying. Maybe it will help you with becoming even closer to God than you are right now.

Good luck, and God bless.

 

[SMOOCH]

As someone who also struggles with this as well as being a previous porn addict, its like any other addiction you have to find somewhere else to apply your sexual energy. Although you might not intentionally lust in the back of your mind there are thoughts that get pushed there because of all the hustle and bustle of the day and when your sleep and those defenses are down is when it comes flooding out.

Usually if i get the urge I clean, or read, or work out but since yours is in your sleep the best suggestion I can give you is to, if possible, exhaust yourself. Possibly put in a hard work out so your body is so tired that it needs the night to fully recover. It may help or it may not but it never hurts to try.