The nature of sin is so closely bound to our fallen natures, we need help to overcome these difficult trials. Christ is explicit in saying that we can do nothing without Him, and that we must pray always lest we be put to the test.

What is needed to overcome habitual sin is prayer. We must pray to be able to act. And pray that our worldliness may become less so. And we must avoid all those things in our lives that have previously led us into sin. There is an old teaching about a drunk who is on the wagon. On his way home from work each day, he had the chose of walking on Main Street, past the three bars he used to visit each day when he drank, or the longer way home via River Street, which pasted none of his former haunts. He really is obliged to take the longer route home to avoid the occasions of sin. And he will if he has mustered the grace to do so by have diligently prayed for the power to do so beforehand.