Crushed by Life In General - Prayer Not Working

[Bruce S]

I am a relatively new Christian [have always believed, just not felt things until a year ago]. Anyway, events from my past, mistakes, bad judgement, sins, have overtaken me this past year.

I have done almost everything to move forwards, become obsessive with prayer, chuch attendence, reading, support, internet boards. Have almost eliminated some vices from my past, but I can't shake free.

Legal problems, lawsuits, lawyers, bankruptcy, all consume my entire life.

This has affected everything, I had to close my business, some of my fault, most of it not, had marital problems, and have lost my drivers license for the second time for a year, on one DUI.

Yesterday, I almost lost it with God. I was very angry, feeling lost, abandoned, forgotten. My earnest prayers seem to fall on deaf ears. I've gotten some blessings, some big ones, I guess, but after a year of trying as hard as I can to be a good Christian, I feel like I'm falling back, and the old vices that I walked on are staring me in the face again.

I feel like I'm under a real Satanic attack, and Satan is winning.

Has anyone else with a new faith stuggled like this, did you fall out with God over issues that were not answered favorably. I feel like Job, with everything in my life being dirt and dung.

Whining is really NOT my style, but my family, friends, and associates are avoiding me, I'm dragging everyone down now will all my life issues, and I don't want to do that, but how can I HONESTLY tell them what is going on with me without being a complete drain on them?

Help.

 

[leastone]

Hi Bruce:

I am sorry for your troubles and will sincerely keep you lifted up in prayer.

But know that you are dear to the Lord and He has not abandoned you, though it may indeed feel like it right now. And no, you are not the only one to go through trying times like your own.

It sounds as if you are trying your best to do all of the "right" things - which is our natural reaction when times get hard - and then getting angry with the Lord when those things don't work. Again, a natural reaction. This type of approach is somewhat like trying to patch every little hole in the bottom of the boat - one hole at a time - when the whole thing is rotted through and water is pouring in, not just from the bottom through all those holes, but over the sides as well.

The truth is, none of us can live the "Christian" life by our own efforts, though we all try it. There is only One Who can, and that is Jesus. The new life we have in Him is His Life, and through His sacrifice of Himself - the sacrifice of that Life - He has made it available to us in Him, by the Spirit Whom He sent to live within us and guide us in that Life.

Rather than be angry at God, try this: truly humble yourself before Him in the Name of Jesus, confess those sins (and not just the external, obvious ones; be honest about your willfulness, disobedience, etc. in the past) and ask Him to cleanse you of all unrighteousness by the Blood of Jesus. And truly receive that cleansing by faith. Then you can stand confidently before the Father in the Righteousness of Christ and the enemy has no grounds to accuse you (though he will try for that is his nature).

I say all of this because - as Christians - we are constantly in a spiritual war; and it is a war we cannot fight - and definitely cannot win - on our own merits or by our own efforts.

But you have to decide who you are going to believe: the lies of the enemy or the Truth of God; your feelings or the Word; the circumstances around you or His promise that He will never leave you nor abandon you. For myself, when I am feeling oppressed I just start praising God out loud, and thanking Him. I praise Him for everything I can possibly think of. When I am feeling down, I confess out loud that I am not moved by my feelings, or circumstances, or what other people say, or by what I think...but only by His Word.

Finally, remember Peter: he jumped out of the boat and was walking on the water too, so long as He kept his eyes on Jesus! It was only when he took his eyes off of Jesus, and began to look around at his circumstances - the wind and the waves - that he began to sink. So, get your eyes off of the problems and fix them on Jesus. I know it is difficult, but you can do it! Prayerfully give each and every one of those problems to Him - out loud - and then consider them out of your hands. They are then no longer your concern, they are His; so trust Him with them.

I know you feel alone in this, but truly, you are not alone. I tell you the truth in this: earlier I went outside during my lunch break and was just conversing with the Lord as I walked around - as is my daily habit - and He told me that when I returned to my desk there was someone that he wanted me to write to on this forum. And that someone is you Bruce! The Lord Jesus loves you very much brother! And now - in Him - so do I.

I promise I will keep you lifted before Him.

LeastOne

 

[ukok]

Bruce,


I am sorry to hear that you are struggling at the moment. I will pray for you. I can't really offer you advice from the perspective of being a new christian, but i can tell you that even us older christians have our battles to overcome, and our occassional angry outbursts at the seeming 'injustice' of the things that happen in our lives. I hope that things improve for you. Continue to focus on God in all things, humble yourself before the Lord, get down on your knees and cry out to Him. He won't fail you, He won't let you down. You can get through this, your life doesn't have to remain this way.

God Bless.

 

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

There are a couple of things that may help.

First, let's take a look at what you're praying for. That can be a key to helping the situation.

I have no doubt you are in a spiritual warfare situation, especially since you have been diligently seeking the Lord in all of this, and you can win.

Your faith has to be entirely in God, though, and not yourself; this may be what He is trying to show you right now. you'll get over this, and when you do, God may send you to help others.

The best thing you can do is to cut yourself off from the influences that are standing between you and the Lord. Look for patterns in when you are tempted to drink; there may be situations that are aggravating the situation. When this happens, get out of the house, or give your keys to someone else you trust-anything. Whatever it takes. You mentioned there are some other troubles that may be part of the problem, with your business. Pray about where God wants you to be, and cut yourself off from temptation which may be causing you to lose blessing.

Change does not come overnight, but it does come. What will make all the difference in the world is persevereance. If you persevere, you will win.

 

[Galadriel]

Very well said all you guys!!

Hang in there Bruce!

 

[cyberwing]

Bruce,
Have you been doing things your way or God's way? There IS a difference. Sometimes we do things our way and get angry with God when He doesn't bless them. This is a short way of saying what someone said earlier. For instance, the first step to change bad financial messes is to look at God's advice about how to handle our money. It is amazing to see His methods at work because they DO work!!!!!
Do learn about submission, humbling yourself before Him. Give up your ideas and your dreams. Give them to Him and HE will resurrect what is good and is His will. This is very hard to do but you will never regret it. First you will find peace when you give Him your burdens. Don't take them back!!! That's a hard one, we all tend to want to take those problems back and worry about them just a little more.....
"YOU CAN'T WORRY AND TRUST GOD AT THE SAME TIME!!!" ~Pastor Jimmy Holmes
This is SO true. If I can help feel free to PM me, I'm a good encourager.... In the meantime may The Lord bless you and provide for all of your needs. May He give you guidance and peace as you journey forward.
Amen
~Cyberwing

 

[paul becke]

Bruce, I think it may be that Christ doesn't want you to throw yourself into spiritual activities because you need a quick fix, so to speak. It may be that he senses you think it's about what you do; when it's really all about what you are, who you are, in particular in your relationship with him, and through him, others. Our whole life is meant to be geared to this one object, so it's little wonder that we have all sorts of trials in matters that are actually tangential to it, and are meant to redirect us towards it. "All things work together for good to them that love God".

Always remember that God's Providence is never derailed - even if we can't understand it and/or resent it bitterly.

Concentrate on getting to know Christ for the love of him; "only one thing is necessary...". Put your other worries on the back-burner, in as far as that is possible and practicable. Deal with each problem as and when you have to, without fretting fruitlessly about the others, i.e. before you have to deal with them. "Sufficient unto the day....".

Remember you are doing it (always to the best of your ability) for the glory of God, not just for yourself, and you should gradually gain a sense of Christ's peace, and with it, better judgement and discretion. Eventually, you will understand in a personal way what St Augustine meant when he said, "Love God and do what you want". Because you love God, whom you will then have a real intimacy with, you will not want to do the foolish/reckless/wrong things you spoke about. They will no longer represent a temptation in any shape or form.

I hope some of these thoughts will be helpful to you, also, in your present situation.

 

[Mr.Cheese]

Time.
It takes time.

 

[Bruce S]

Thank you all, really, this means a lot to me.

I went off to a men's retreat this past weekend. I was going for ME, but it didn't turn out that way.

I kept getting people with alcohol problems shoved at me by others. So, I spent most of the weekend dealing with others, trying to assist them in thier stuggles.

I think God is answering some prayers, he wants me out there not thinking of my problems, but working with other men in time of stress with booze.

It was sort of an answer to my prayers, but I still have doubts, and still want God to intervene in my problems.

So, perhaps you guys are right, I'm trying to have it MY WAY, and not God's way.

 

[led]

I feel you man. I am going through a foreclosure right now so I know what it is like to feel upset at things.

First things first. Me and you need to realize that salvation is something we dont deserve. It is a gilf that God has given unworthy folks like you and me. Anything else that he gives us is not because we deserve it. I mean, if he doesn't work out your life as you want him to, it shouldn't matter. The fact that we are forgiven is more than we could ever ask or dream.

You said you feel like Job. Well, read through his book again. I always do when life takes a turn for the worst. And, I always take a pause at Job 13:15 "Though he slay me, yet will I trust him." Also, Take a look at Habakkuk 3:17-18. That will help everything fall into perspective. We love God regardless if our lives are happy or hard because he has already done more than we could ever ask. Our faith and loyalty isn't based on him blessing us for there will be a day that we will be in eternal peace.

Look at it like this... there are three reasons mainly why your life is hard. One is the old reaping/sowing issue. You are still reaping what you sowed in the past. And, you will have to keep reaping until you start reaping to what you are sowing today. Life is in cycles, and, if you do good things today your tomorrow will blessed. And remember, even though life gets hard, God promises that you won't get crushed. You will get hard pressed, but not destroyed.(2 corinthians 4:8-9). Another reason why things happen is to define your character. To make you more Godly. Some of thes trials are just the fire to purify you. You should embrace them and see them as tests and do your best to overcome them as a man of God. Lastly, sometimes bad things happen just cause we are in a corrupt world. That is what I am going through right now with this foreclosure. I was deceived and now I have to deal with it. At first I wondered if I was failing God but then I realized that this is just one of the things that living among fallen man produces. But, it just makes me long to be with him even more.

Don't be discouraged. Everything that is happening in your life now that you are his is for a reason. Do your best to be a godly man with everyone, especially those closest to you. And, don't fret too much when you fall short. Just don't give up. Many of us have had very hard times as Christians. And, it is cool cause we are examples for you showing you that it will be ok as long as you keep your eyes on the Lord.

If you need anything, PM me.

martin

 

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

I'm doing a study on Job right now, too. I'm making a list of things that surprise me or strike me about this book; things that soothe in times of turmoil. When I'm finished, I'd be happy to share the list and references with you if you like.

A book that will really soothe you too is Hope Grows in Winter, Edited by Woodrow Kroll. It has stories from different people dealing with incredible circumstances, and then shows what good came out of it. I'm reading it again right now.

 

[rookie]

Bruce, it's really true to let God have his way. Oh it's not easy at all. But it works. Lately I've been worrying myself sick over a son-in-law that doesn't want to keep a job because he gets bored, yet he has a wife (my daughter) and 3 kids to raise. (And two of those children aren't hers, but her stepchildren.)

Anyway, back to the point, I was literally worrying myself sick because he won't keep a job and they're constantly borrowing money from people to survive.

I have to constantly tell myself to Let go and let God. And I keep repeating it like a mantra, and I keep praying that they'll get jobs. And I'm more at peace.

It's not always easy to turn it over to God. But if we hold on to our problems and think we can do it all, without letting Him handle them for us, we'll always be going "crazy."

rookie

 

[andrewbee]

I too started with my life in a complete mess. Since becoming a Christian 12 years ago, I found I had to adjust my expectations of what God will and won't do in my lifeI used to think he would fix everything. But, eventually I realized that things weren't going to get fixed unless I did something about it. I had to use my brain and heart to problem-solve. I made goals for myself, and focused on achieving them. Basically, I took responsibility for my life, and you must too.

Don't over-spiritualize things; even for a Christian, the laws of cause and effect still goven everyday life. If you screw up, you have to deal with it, and if you win, you get to enjoy the fruits of it. BUT - and here's the kicker - after years of working to make things better, looking back, I can see that God has been at work. He put me in places where the opportunities and help I needed were available. But I had to act, and take advantage of them. I had what I needed available when I needed it.

My advice to you is this: don't pray your way out of it. Think and act your way out of it. Still pray, of course, but just look on it as talking to God, and don't expect it to change the situation (at least not overnight).

 

[Gift_of_God]

I heard a preacher say this once and it really made me understand. When you pray, God answers instantly! You just don't see it manifest because there other things going on in the spiritual realm. Think of it as medicine; you take a pill when you have pain, but you know it's going to be a little bit before you can tell it's working.

 

[paul becke]

Brilliant insight, Andrew, which has relevance to a number of threads here in a similar vein, doesn't it?

Sorry, Bruce, in fact I actually did think this was another thread! And other stuff I wrote wasn't relevant.