Be praying for me...and a question

[Athlon4all]

Guys, I am going through right now the greatest struggle I have had in the past few years since I made a comittment to Christ. The very foundation of being a Christian, believing that Jesus Christ is and that he is alive with the Father, and that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, has been very shaky and it seems to have gotten worse. It started with me "not feeling" that God really is behind the existance of all things (my house, cars, etc), and now it seems that it has gotten worse and worse. Yesterday at Church I was struggling to feel like I believe what the songs were saying. I feel luike I''ve lost hope in where I am going. I have been in extensive prayer and still in the Word through out all this. I just honestly am confused. I feel like I want to believe all this, but no matter what I do, I can't force myself to believe.

This morning when I was praying, I really started wondering whether I had been all this time been walking by feeling or what the Lord shows me rather than just faith. I know Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus Christ is the Author and the Finisher of our faith, but don't I have a part? Gotta go. be back later prolly just be praying

 

[CeCe]

Praying for you, Athlon4all.

 

[TANKERx]

Praying for you fella!

Remember that even John the Baptist, when he was in prison, had to send his disciples to ask if Jesus was 'the one', despite all he had seen for himself.

In times of darkness, we can often question even the very existence of what we have experienced in the night.

 

[Hopeful]

praying for you, hang in there

 

[Susan]

I know this is probably not going to be seen as the best advice by some, but I will give it anyway.

I believe you need to stop and take inventory of what you believe, why you believe it, and what if anything is making you doubt your faith.

Whatever you do, don't go into trying to "be better" or "do better" by depriving yourself of more things, by taking on more "spiritual" activities, or excluding yourself from people. That, not questioning, is the fastest way to really lose your faith, because no matter what you do, it isn't good enough, and you rot from within out of the hopelessness.

Another thing to watch out for is "spiritual warfare" ministry. While your problems may be caused by a demon, it is unlikely that they are from what I can read of your post. . .more like just a part of growing both as a human and as a Christian.
When "deliverance" and "warfare prayers" are used in a situation like that, especially as a lifestyle, it creates a vicious cycle: You fear a demon so you pray warfare prayers or get deliverance, you get allegedly better for a little while because you've recommitted yourself and ignored the non-demonic, real struggles inside your mind-like pasting a band-aid on a severe wound. In a few days, that spiritual high has faded, so you fear that the "demons" are back-and get deliverance or pray the prayers again. It keeps going on in circles until you either realize it isn't demonic and you're not getting any good done here. . .or you think you're beyond help and God has abandoned you.

Instead, don't be afraid to question. Don't fear change on secondary issues, and don't fear that God will dump you for your actions: He's a lot more forgiving than many of us think. That doesn't mean you can reject Him without consequence, but it does mean that He allows you time to grow and He doesn't expect us to be exactly alike.

Believe it or not, your faith could actually be stronger after this time: you just need to hold on to that God exists, Jesus paid the price for your sins by dying in your place, and that He rose from the grave. As long as you hold those beliefs, you're a Christian, you haven't lost faith, and God hasn't lost you. . .and although other things may need to be believed or practiced to live a life pleasing to God, they will fall into place eventually-don't worry about those other things.

I'm praying for you: I've been there myself, and it was a bit of a long road because I did almost everything I advised you not to do (except I didn't abandon the core beliefs of Christianity)

 

[DaveKerwin]

Athlon, what was your question?

Hang tight bro, you will see God's faithfulness.

 

[jayebrownlee]

praying

Jay

 

[AlexSuttonUK]

Your not alone, although i have been a christian a long time, sometimes i still struggle with the same things...Prayer is Powerful!, Never stop praying!