Kind of stressed.

[-GodsGirl-]

So I just started college and my day is packed with school/homework and work. Every since I started school I haven't really desired to read the bible which scares me. Cause I feel like I'm really encouraged and can't wait to read the bible for a while and then I just don't feel like it. And I'm not desiring God like I want to.

And I just had a talk wth God because I was telling him it's not fair if I'm praying for him to give me the desire for him and his word or I'm praying for him to help me remove whatever may be blocking me from him and he doesn't do it. Sometimes I feel like he isn't answering my prayers and it's frustrating. And I guess I know even when I don't feel like studying his word I have to disipline myself cause I know my flesh doesn't want to. But it's hard to read the bible when I don't feel like it. Like I feel like I'm just reading it and not absorbing anything.

I just don't want to be a lukewarm Christian who doesn't have a personal relationship with Jesus. It just freaks me out sometimes where in the bible it says we can't come to the Jesus unless the father calls us to him. And it's like what if he didn't call me? I don't know. I get worked up about these things because my salvation is soooo important to me. And I don't know. I just want more from him. But maybe all this is from is me not being disciplined enough. Cause I have a problem with that :/ I just want to desire him. Why can't I ?

 

[~Anastasia~]

Don't worry that you are being prevented because God decided not to call you. That hasn't happened.

Those are good prayers, to ask God to remove obstacles and give you desire. But before you go blaming God for not answering your prayers, consider that (1) it is our responsibility to discipline ourselves, come to God, overcome our flesh, etc. We can ask for help, but we can't expect to sit back and have God do it all for us. And on a related note, (2) we shouldn't be surprised if there are struggles and temptations that continue all our days in this life.

It IS good that you recognize that prayer and reading Scriptures encourage you. That is God's help He has already given you to help you to continue.

You can ask for more help, you can ask help continually. Relying on God is wiser than relying on ourselves. But we have a responsibility and a part to play as well. St. Paul writes about this ... and if even he had to do it, we can't expect to do better without the same effort.

God be with you.

 

[Hidden In Him]

It just freaks me out sometimes where in the bible it says we can't come to the Jesus unless the father calls us to him. And it's like what if he didn't call me? I don't know. I get worked up about these things because my salvation is soooo important to me... I just want to desire him. Why can't I?

No, no. Don't let that passage mess with your head. If you have an aptitude and a desire to know Him than He most certainly will be there for you. Scripture teaches that He desires that all be saved, and that if we draw near to Him He will draw near to us.

What may be happening is that He is giving you a season to yourself right now, to focus on your studies. He will do this with me sometimes. I'm an avid student of scripture, but I can always tell when He's giving me time off, because I get the same feelings you are describing. But I just wait it out. I know it's only a matter of time before my interest level returns, and in the meantime I just try to enjoy myself and devote my energy to whatever else I have going on.

Focus on your studies, and just let Him know that you miss spending time with Him in His word. Keep up your prayers. You can always be doing that. The time for you to be back in the word will return, so don't be nervous. It's just a phase, and probably there for a reason.

 

[-Luca]

I have a problem similar to yours.

I get all fuzzy inside, extremely motivated to read my Bible then I feel like I can not be bothered, sometimes to even pray. Perhaps because we unintentionally distant ourselves from God, through school or work?

 

[Winken]

So I just started college and my day is packed with school/homework and work. Every since I started school I haven't really desired to read the bible which scares me. Cause I feel like I'm really encouraged and can't wait to read the bible for a while and then I just don't feel like it. And I'm not desiring God like I want to.

And I just had a talk wth God because I was telling him it's not fair if I'm praying for him to give me the desire for him and his word or I'm praying for him to help me remove whatever may be blocking me from him and he doesn't do it. Sometimes I feel like he isn't answering my prayers and it's frustrating. And I guess I know even when I don't feel like studying his word I have to disipline myself cause I know my flesh doesn't want to. But it's hard to read the bible when I don't feel like it. Like I feel like I'm just reading it and not absorbing anything.

I just don't want to be a lukewarm Christian who doesn't have a personal relationship with Jesus. It just freaks me out sometimes where in the bible it says we can't come to the Jesus unless the father calls us to him. And it's like what if he didn't call me? I don't know. I get worked up about these things because my salvation is soooo important to me. And I don't know. I just want more from him. But maybe all this is from is me not being disciplined enough. Cause I have a problem with that :/ I just want to desire him. Why can't I ?

GodsGirl, you are, indeed, God's Girl. You were born again in Him (Romans 10:8-13) and nothing can take that away from you! You are the Righteousness of God in Christ, and so you will always be. Lift up your head, no need to mourn, His Hand is stretched out to you in the Holy Spirit, who abides in you and will provide the guidance and understanding that you need.

 

[~Anastasia~]

I have a problem similar to yours.

I get all fuzzy inside, extremely motivated to read my Bible then I feel like I can not be bothered, sometimes to even pray. Perhaps because we unintentionally distant ourselves from God, through school or work?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by fuzzy inside.

But we need to be aware that if the enemy cannot tempt us with something sinful, he WILL tempt us with something good, if it means he can actually prevent our prayers and distance us from God, while we are busy with "Christian stuff". This is a very common tactic the enemy uses with those who have a degree of dedication, especially if they are not yet specifically devoted to praying or for some other reason he finds a weakness to exploit.

But if that "fuzzy" feeling makes you feel at all scattered, or driven, or distracted, or condemned, or consumed ... such that it draws you from actual fellowship with God, test that carefully (and pray anyway!)

If the enemy can not draw us away from God through sin, he will settle for busying us with good things, if it means we neglect the best things.

 

[Wolfe]

I know the answer to this one, at least widespread.

It's the same reason you can feel apathetic towards working out, when at one point you were on fire about it.
You just get preoccupied with something else, or just stop thinking about it like that, it's sort of like infatuation.
It's not a bad thing, you just gotta keep at it, even if you don't hotly desire it. It's all psychological.

By the way, even sleep can "preoccupy" you in such a way, you can just lose interest. Then all the sudden gain it back.
You also gotta be careful to not get burned out, as it can and does happen.

Again, it's nothing bad, or anything to worry about. It's not a hardening of your soul, it's just mental.
Feelings come and go, simple as that.

In a less serious sense, you can play a video game really heavily for a week, then just stop playing it. You still love the game, but you just don't wanna play it. Then a month later, wanna play it again.

In the case of God however, I recommend praying, and reading the bible, regardless of your feelings towards it. And think about it while you do it, a God that loves you, so so much wrote a book for you.
And you have 24/7 access to Him, pray n what not.

Hope this helped.

 

[GandalfTheWise]

Starting at college is a big stressful transition. I spent a few years as a campus minister. I'd recommend finding a good campus ministry to be involved with. There are usually a number of them on most campuses. Pray about it and see where God leads you. (I must admit when I first arrived on campus as an 18YO, I thought I was the only Christian there. I walked out my dorm door and saw a couple cute girls putting up posters for one of the Christian groups. I talked to them a bit, ended up going to that group, made a number of life-long friends there, started attending that church, and over 30 years later am still married to one of those girls who was putting up posters.)

One thing that is a challenge is that we are now responsible for setting our own schedule, priorities, and getting things done. It can take awhile to get used to it (and hopefully before a lot of stuff builds up and we get stuck pulling all-nighters in catch up mode). We all need to learn our own rhythms as to how and when we study best and do other things well.

Spiritually speaking, we each need to learn what the most effective way is for us to do things such as prayer, bible readings, meditation, getting together with other Christians, etc. Some of us do best with the same thing every day. My pastor has been on the same routine for decades. Others of us have to mix it up some. I've had similar experiences to @Hidden In Him . I find that I run in streaks where one particular thing (perhaps an emphasis on bible reading, or prayer, or something different) goes really well and I grow a lot from it, then it gets stale and I need to move to some other emphasis.

A couple pieces of practical advice.
1. Get onto a regular sleeping, eating, and exercising schedule and stick to it. (Perhaps combining prayer or meditation or listening to an audio bible while taking a daily walk or something.)
2. Learn to work ahead with your studies and stay current with stuff.
3. Pick good people to hang around with who will help you grow spiritually.

Best wishes!

 

[-Luca]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by fuzzy inside.

But we need to be aware that if the enemy cannot tempt us with something sinful, he WILL tempt us with something good, if it means he can actually prevent our prayers and distance us from God, while we are busy with "Christian stuff". This is a very common tactic the enemy uses with those who have a degree of dedication, especially if they are not yet specifically devoted to praying or for some other reason he finds a weakness to exploit.

But if that "fuzzy" feeling makes you feel at all scattered, or driven, or distracted, or condemned, or consumed ... such that it draws you from actual fellowship with God, test that carefully (and pray anyway!)

If the enemy can not draw us away from God through sin, he will settle for busying us with good things, if it means we neglect the best things.

What do you mean by good things?
Oh and when I said fuzzy I meant that I get butterflies or really excited.

 

[~Anastasia~]

What do you mean by good things?
Oh and when I said fuzzy I meant that I get butterflies or really excited.

Ok.

I may have misunderstood you too, since your post was pretty brief. But I'm always concerned when "doing" anything "Christian" ... whether it's studying theology, reading the Bible, ministering in some way, etc. etc. ... makes a person feel that they cannot be bothered to pray.

Prayer is the basis of our ongoing relationship with God. Without relationship, we have nothing. Knowing all about God, if we study 20 hours a day, is worthless spiritually if we don't have a relationship. Even Christ withdrew to be alone and pray - often, and for lengths of time.

If the enemy can make us excited enough to study, to preach, or to do whatever ... that it prevents us from praying, he will gladly do it, so we need to be aware of that. It's a VERY common temptation, and one we have to be constantly aware of. I can't tell you how many preachers or ministers have fallen unknowingly into that trap, at least for a time.

I'm not saying what is happening to you ... I don't know. Just making a comment in general that this is a common thing we must guard against.

Oh, if I didn't answer you fully about "good things" ... many of us Satan can't tempt away from God by trying to get us involved in adultery, or stealing, or bullying, or something so obviously "bad" because we are no longer tempted enough by such things. But we might like to study the Bible, or go on mission trips, or help people, or preach. All "good things" certainly. So the enemy often tries to get us so involved in doing these good things that we don't take time to pray anymore. If he can cut us off from our ongoing relationship with God, our efforts won't amount to much, and we slowly weaken in our faith, without realizing it. Burnout becomes more and more common. So what I meant is that tempting Christians to overtly sin might not always work, so the enemy will subtly tempt us to get too wrapped up in doing these "good things" because we easily agree to these, if he can push us enough so that we neglect prayer, since that is his larger goal.

I hope that makes sense?

 

[-Luca]

Ok. i

I may have misunderstood you too, since your post was pretty brief. But I'm always concerned when "doing" anything "Christian" ... whether it's studying theology, reading the Bible, ministering in some way, etc. etc. ... makes a person feel that they cannot be bothered to pray.

Prayer is the basis of our ongoing relationship with God. Without relationship, we have nothing. Knowing all about God, if we study 20 hours a day, is worthless spiritually if we don't have a relationship. Even Christ withdrew to be alone and pray - often, and for lengths of time.

If the enemy can make us excited enough to study, to preach, or to do whatever ... that it prevents us from praying, he will gladly do it, so we need to be aware of that. It's a VERY common temptation, and one we have to be constantly aware of. I can't tell you how many preachers or ministers have fallen unknowingly into that trap, at least for a time.

I'm not saying what is happening to you ... I don't know. Just making a comment in general that this is a common thing we must guard against.

Oh, if I didn't answer you fully about "good things" ... many of us Satan can't tempt away from God by trying to get us involved in adultery, or stealing, or bullying, or something so obviously "bad" because we are no longer tempted enough by such things. But we might like to study the Bible, or go on mission trips, or help people, or preach. All "good things" certainly. So the enemy often tries to get us so involved in doing these good things that we don't take time to pray anymore. If he can cut us off from our ongoing relationship with God, our efforts won't amount to much, and we slowly weaken in our faith, without realizing it. Burnout becomes more and more common. So what I meant is that tempting Christians to overtly sin might not always work, so the enemy will subtly tempt us to get too wrapped up in doing these "good things" because we easily agree to these, if he can push us enough so that we neglect prayer, since that is his larger goal.

I hope that makes sense?

It does make sense, thank you. I understand that prayer is very important but sometimes I will not know what to prayer about. If I could, I would have long conversations with God but 70% of the time I stop talking to God because I have nothing to think of.

 

[“Paisios”]

It does make sense, thank you. I understand that prayer is very important but sometimes I will not know what to prayer about. If I could, I would have long conversations with God but 70% of the time I stop talking to God because I have nothing to think of.

When I run out of things to talk to God about, that is when I find I am most able to quiet my thoughts and feelings and just listen for Him. Sometimes, even when He doesn't speak, I have had my closest moments and awareness of His Presence at these times...

 

[~Anastasia~]

It does make sense, thank you. I understand that prayer is very important but sometimes I will not know what to prayer about. If I could, I would have long conversations with God but 70% of the time I stop talking to God because I have nothing to think of.

Have you considered the Psalms? There are Psalms of repentance Psalms that glorify God, and so on. They have been "the prayerbook" of faithful followers of God since before Christ, and after.

You don't have to pray for hours, trying to think of something to say. A well-chosen Psalm or two, a couple of times during the day, will serve to express your heart to God. (They should be prayed of course, with the understanding and heart, and not merely recited.) it can be quite powerful, and properly shape our relationship to God at the same time.

Most of us if we consider it can also think of many things to thank God for. I once ran across a useful little spiritual exercise that was basically - what would you thank God for today, if tomorrow you would have ONLY those things? I quickly realized I could spend hours a day in sincere thanks. It's not necessary to do that every day, but a good question to reflect on from time to time, and a good thing to actually do sometimes. (Thanking God for EVERYthing.)

 

[~Anastasia~]

When I run out of things to talk to God about, that is when I find I am most able to quiet my thoughts and feelings and just listen for Him. Sometimes, even when He doesn't speak, I have had my closest moments and awareness of His Presence at these times...

This is true too, and I considered saying it. It can lead to depths of prayer. Which are both richly rewarding, but potentially a bit dangerous as regards deception too. But if pursued in a limited fashion, such praying is usually a good idea.

 

[-Luca]

When I run out of things to talk to God about, that is when I find I am most able to quiet my thoughts and feelings and just listen for Him. Sometimes, even when He doesn't speak, I have had my closest moments and awareness of His Presence at these times...

Wow...why did I never think of that? Thank-you!

 

[Tolworth John]

But it's hard to read the bible when I don't feel like it. Like I feel like I'm just reading it and not absorbing anything

And how often do you do school work or go to work even though you don't feel like it or want to?

It takes minutes to do an every day with Jesus bible reading, explanitory notes and a prayer.

How often do you attend church?

Student life is buisy, but you can choose to make time for God, for friends etc.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I have a problem similar to yours.

I get all fuzzy inside, extremely motivated to read my Bible then I feel like I can not be bothered, sometimes to even pray. Perhaps because we unintentionally distant ourselves from God, through school or work?

It's always rewarding to make the effort to read God's Word prayerfully.

 

[-Luca]

It's always rewarding to make the effort to read God's Word prayerfully.

How do you mean?

 

[faroukfarouk]

How do you mean?

Always rewarding = always worthwhile.

So many promises in God's Word to those who in faith truly humble themselves before the Saviour!

 

[-Luca]

Always rewarding = always worthwhile.

So many promises in God's Word to those who in faith truly humble themselves before the Saviour!

Why is it at times that God may feel distant?