Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
When I was first born again in 1975, I was having much difficulty with destructive thoughts. At first, I thought these were coming because I had become a Christian. The Bible was all I could think about after being born again. My business didn't matter to my any more. The only thing I cared about was reading the Bible and learning more of God and His ways. But since the attacks were so bad, I decided I would not think about Christ any more. But what would I think of? I was sitting in the office at my business at the time. I decided I would think of the alphabet. I started with "A "... OK ... then "B", still OK ... then "C" ... not OK ... I gave up. It was impossible for me not to think of Christ.
As the attacks continued from time to time weekly, and the destructive thoughts surfaced, I was reading in I Peter chapter 2 and came across the following verse. "How is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?" (NIV)
I saw it immediately... I was taking a beating for doing wrong ... (If a man robs a bank and takes a beating because he robbed a bank, it is not to his credit. Instead we must turn from wrong doing.)
I realized the "wrong doing" I had done was covetousness. I wanted a husband like my friend had. I didn't want my friend's husband I wanted a husband of my own. I would become depressed when I saw other women with their husbands. And that is the way I was opening the door for Satan to attack me with the negative thoughts and the depression.
So I must change. I began praying for the will of God to be done ... Not my will but Thy will be done. Each time I did this and turned to God, the attacks would stop.
Also God began teaching me the concept of taking thoughts captive.
God taught me to do this: Each time a negative thought came to me, to turn to Him in prayer asking Him about that thought. When I did that the Holy Spirit would usually call to my attention a scripture which was like an antidote to the negative thought. As I focused on that scripture given by the Holy Spirit, I would be healed and restored. My faith in God also grew as I did that.
Each of us have negative thoughts from time to time ... Each time, the key is to turn to God in prayer with that negative thought and to depend on God to give us what is needed to overcome that thought.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7