Soldiers Pray to Abstain, and to Save Their Marriages

BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 12, 2006 — -- In one Baghdad Bible study group, troops pray not for courage in their struggle with insurgents but for courage in their struggle with themselves.

"Every impure thought I have drives a stake between my relationship with Christ and my relationship with my wife," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Vic Norris.

He's been married for three years and was leading the session using a kit called Every Soldier's Battle distributed to the troops in Iraq by the California-based New Life Ministries.

The kit contains a stack of books, including a Bible, and is compiled in a camouflage box. The books lay out strict rules: no infidelity, flirting, pornography or masturbation.

Soldiers are not even allowed to leer at other women. As Air Force Capt. Chris Bryant explains it, Jesus sets the bar high.

"He says if you've committed an impure thought, you've committed adultery right there," said Bryant, who is in his 14th year of marriage.

Iraq, some say, is particularly ripe for military marital problems for a number of reasons: Troops are in for long tours and are sometimes deployed two or three times.

There are also more women deployed in Iraq than in any previous war, and soldiers are living and fighting in close proximity.

Evangelical minster Steve Arterburn of New Life Ministries put together the Every Soldier's Battle kits to help these soldiers, and he sent 20,000 of them to Afghanistan and Iraq.

"When we are open and honest, and open up about that temptation, it really takes the power out of it," Arterburn says.

These men learn to employ Arterburn's coping mechanisms, such as averting the eyes in the presence of an attractive colleague.

"And then using Bible verses and Christian music to bounce around in my head to keep those thoughts from taking control," says Norris.

The stakes are high, according to Norris, who explains that being closer to his wife means being closer to God.