I Made a Promise to God I Can't Keep - How to Take It Back?

[frenchbread101]

I made a foolish promise to God that I wasn't going to talk to a certain person during an OCD spike (I thought my cat hacking was a sign from God telling me not to talk to them). I was half asleep when I made it and now I regret it because I see how ridiculous the basis of the promise was. What should i do? Can you take back promises you make to God that were nonsense are do you have to keep them?

 

[brinny]

I made a foolish promise to God that I wasn't going to talk to a certain person during an OCD spike (I thought my cat hacking was a sign from God telling me not to talk to them). I was half asleep when I made it and now I regret it because I see how ridiculous the basis of the promise was. What should i do? Can you take back promises you make to God that were nonsense are do you have to keep them?

You repent, dear heart. You simply repent. Take it to God. ALL of it. Seek HIM in ALL of this. Praying for you precious (((hug)))

 

[aiki]

I made a foolish promise to God that I wasn't going to talk to a certain person during an OCD spike (I thought my cat hacking was a sign from God telling me not to talk to them). I was half asleep when I made it and now I regret it because I see how ridiculous the basis of the promise was. What should i do? Can you take back promises you make to God that were nonsense are do you have to keep them?

I think God sees the circumstances and motivations for your promise and recognizes that your promise was made foolishly. I'm sure He takes that into account in how He regards your promise. Scripture, though, has something to say about making promises to God:

Numbers 30:2
2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

I doubt God appreciates you making - or keeping - promises because of your cat's hacking. Recognize that what you did was foolish and disrespectful toward God and determine not to do it again.

As a person who once struggled a lot with anxiety and OCD, I can tell you that your OCD reveals that you have some fundamental misunderstandings about God and your relationship to Him. If you want to be free of your OCD, this must change.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

1 John 4:16-19
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
19 We love Him because He first loved us.

 

[Call me Nic]

I would do exactly what was mentioned above by brinny. But also consider this.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 says, "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest NOT vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." That's the policy I personally keep - I don't promise anything to God because I can't bear the thought of promising something to the eternal Father that I'm unable to keep, unless it's a covenant like marriage or something life-changing like that. I simply acknowledge to him that I'm doing my best to work on overcoming something and pray for his guidance and strength to resist giving into something through the working of the Lord Jesus Christ in my heart.

Let every man be persuaded in his own mind, but this is something to consider so that we can uphold and show our reverence for the Lord correctly; the way I think about it is this: if I promise something to God, I promise that I'm going to do something in my own power and of my own accord unto him, which is both vainly foolish and prideful/arrogant, which is not the kind of attitude I would want to have unto the Lord. It's better to not promise something to God, admitting that you need his help and that you will fail because you're imperfect while having faith and trusting in his mercies to forgive, than it is to put that kind of pressure on yourself. But that's me.

 

[frenchbread101]

Should i keep my promise? How can i let the person know Im not allowed to talk to them besdies ignoring them. I don't want to sin

 

[aiki]

Should i keep my promise? How can i let the person know Im not allowed to talk to them besdies ignoring them. I don't want to sin

Did you not read our posts? Your answer is already given in them.

 

[frenchbread101]

Yes. I made a mistake by promisng and we should not make promises but I already did and now I need to know how to go on

 

[Tom 1]

God understands your OCD better than you do, or anyone else does for that matter. He understands that it will push you into making deals like this involving promises, to keep yourself sane and manage situations that provoke anxiety. Jesus is bigger than all of that - he gets it, he understands. Just trust him. He knows your heart and your intention - you are forgiven, move on.

 

[MyGivenNameIsKeith]

Yes. I made a mistake by promisng and we should not make promises but I already did and now I need to know how to go on

Revisit the initial reason why you were making the promise to begin with. What is it that made you consider not talking to the person? If you were moved to do something like make a promise to God, and not taking it lightly, the person must have done something that did not agree with a moral compass pointing north. Revisit the reasoning. Not the cat nonsense, but the underlying personal thing that is between the two of you.

 

[YJM]

(I thought my cat hacking was a sign from God telling me not to talk to them)

I'm concerned already.

 

[frenchbread101]

I'm concerned already.

Yeah, I'm really not right in the head

 

[Doug Melven]

Should i keep my promise? How can i let the person know Im not allowed to talk to them besdies ignoring them. I don't want to sin

Ignoring someone is not acting in love towards them.
You made a mistake in making this oath. This is the type of oath I don't believe God would want honored.
Thank God that He has forgiven you for this mistake and does not hold it against you.
Check out Psalm 103, especially the first 15 verses, I think they will help you.

 

[frenchbread101]

it doesn't matter. it's hard for me to explain and the contexts of it are very embarrassing to begin with. I think I want to keep my promise because I can't bear to feel like I've sinned or let God down.

 

[frenchbread101]

Plus I'm thinking perhaps it happened for a reason, like God allowed this incident with my OCD to happen because He is leading me

 

[Doug Melven]

it doesn't matter. it's hard for me to explain and the contexts of it are very embarrassing to begin with. I think I want to keep my promise because I can't bear to feel like I've sinned or let God down.

You have already given enough information.
Whether you keep your oath or not, you should know either way God was not surprised, He knew what you would do and forgave you already.
Romans 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

 

[aiki]

it doesn't matter. it's hard for me to explain and the contexts of it are very embarrassing to begin with. I think I want to keep my promise because I can't bear to feel like I've sinned or let God down.

No one ever "let's God down." That can only happen if God had an expectation of us that we did not meet. But God knew before the universe existed what you would do and when. He had, then, no expectation of you that you failed to meet. And so, He's not disappointed. You did exactly as He knew you would do.

I don't think you have sinned by making a half-conscious, OCD-provoked promise to God. Do you really think God is so uptight, so militant and crotchety, that He would expect you to keep such a silly oath? You should read again the verses I posted to you earlier in this thread. And this time, maybe actually think about them.

 

[frenchbread101]

How can I politely tell the person I can't speak to them any more

 

[mathinspiration]

We all done that.

 

[Jonathan Leo]

I made a foolish promise to God that I wasn't going to talk to a certain person during an OCD spike (I thought my cat hacking was a sign from God telling me not to talk to them). I was half asleep when I made it and now I regret it because I see how ridiculous the basis of the promise was. What should i do? Can you take back promises you make to God that were nonsense are do you have to keep them?

Never make promises to God you ain’t willing to keep. God would much prefer if you never made a promise than to unfulfill one you made with Him.
Ecclesiastes 5
Ask God to forgive you for making a stupid statement and that you realize your error. God is in the forgiveness business for now so your lucky.
One time I promised I would fast, I didn’t. That week I went into isolation and complete dispear. My head was melted man, I was contacting suicide centers because of loneliness.
Not saying God caused this, but He allowed it to happen.
I felt Gods presence was gone. Days later the HS spoke to me exactly what I’m telling you.
It’s best not to make any promises to God than to unfulfill one you made with Him.
God bless and don’t forget to tell Him you learned your mistake
God bless and prayers with you
Jonathan

 

[Victor E.]

I made a foolish promise to God that I wasn't going to talk to a certain person during an OCD spike (I thought my cat hacking was a sign from God telling me not to talk to them). I was half asleep when I made it and now I regret it because I see how ridiculous the basis of the promise was. What should i do? Can you take back promises you make to God that were nonsense are do you have to keep them?

'To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:“Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I receive.’

But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted' Luke 18:9-14

'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness' 1 John 1:9

'Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord' Acts of the Apostles 3:19

Why don't you recognize that God understands your heart posture and that there is grace to grow in the knowledge of Christ? It is true that we should not break our vows to God but you underestimate His ability to understand your own heart. I'm sure Papa God already understands your condition and has already forgiven it. You are already saved by your faith in Christ, you're just learning how to walk it out in Truth. If you ask Him now, I'm sure He will minister to you as you confess it to Him. You have a repentant heart, and God has grace and mercy for us as we grow into all things in Christ.

Yes, we don't want to sin. However we also don't want to be self-condemned and unable to walk in the freedom that Christ has paid for, eagerly expecting us to be intimate with Him and grow in obedience along the way.