Q: I know I drink too much. It started with a couple of beers or a drink or two to help me unwind after a hard day at work, but then it became a habit. Now I can't wait till after work, and find myself drinking more and more. I've tried to stop, but can't. Can you help?

When our habits begin to harm us or others, they move out of the realm of habits into the realm of vices-and it sounds like that's what's happened to you.

What you may not realize is that once a habit has become a vice, it's often more than just an ingrained reaction or physical dependency; it's a spiritual problem. The Bible refers to the Devil as our adversary, who is out to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8). What better way to accomplish this than to get us to pull the trigger ourselves, through our destructive habits? Self-destructive habits would be a better term.

The Bible warns us to not "give place to the Devil" (Ephesians 4:27). When we "give place" to him in our lives, it's like having an evil boarder in our house: He's not in control of the house, but he annoys us and can cause us trouble and all kinds of damage. We tell him to leave but he won't, so finally by the authority and the law-in this case, the authority of the Word and the name of Jesus-we need to have him thrown out.

No matter what the bad habit or how serious it is, Jesus can set you free!

Unfortunately, many Christians go for a long time without getting complete deliverance from deep-seated vices and bad habits. They don't recognize that their problems are spiritual as well as physical, so they don't take spiritual authority over these spirits and get rid of them.

You have to admit your problem, first of all, and then you have to understand that a spiritual force is binding you to that vice-a force too strong for you to overcome on your own. Then you have to want to be free from it badly enough that you turn to the Lord and earnestly pray for His help. It's often also helpful to confess your problem to others and ask them to pray with you against the evil forces that have you bound, and to help you resist temptation when it comes-which it will!

When you pray for deliverance (and later, as you pray to continue to resist temptation), quote to the Lord promises He has made in His Word. When you do this, it shows you have faith in Him and what He has pledged. Never doubt for a moment that He is going to answer, and He will! No matter what the bad habit or how serious it is, Jesus can set you free!-And "if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).