Seven Christian ways to take every thought captive
1. Accept responsibility for your thoughts. You have the ability to exercise control over ALL your thoughts. declare that you can, with God's help, regain control of your thoughts - and think enabling thoughts instead of disabling ones. “Cease striving, be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
2. Your mind - not just your behavior - must change. God calls us to change sinful behavior that does not honor Him. Work on disciplining your mind - from which the behaviors stem. Allow God to transform you by the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2).
3. Think through your problems rather than just react to them. When you experience difficult challenges, you’ll react to them and think something. Look forward to the next opportunity and ask yourself what you learned from this. You don't have to get trapped by disabling thoughts.
4. Take your disabling thoughts captive through confession. Paul urges us to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (Rom. 12:21). Confront your disabling thoughts. Turn them over to God and become who He sees you can be
5. Choose to focus your thoughts on the right things. We are to think about those things that are "true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable" (Phil. 4:8). When we think about those things, God promises to give us His peace.
6. Believe it is possible to take your thoughts captive. It is not easy to retrain your thoughts or to respond in new Christ-like ways. God empowers you to focus your mind on the right things, it will become easier over time. Develop a new frame of reference, based on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.
7. Recognize we’re commanded to accept all circumstances in a positive mindset. “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”, 1 Thessalonians 5:18
