How do you strengthen your faith?

Creachadóir

I pray, and I've started to read the Bible, and I go to mass.

I believe in God....but then sometimes I feel a little lost and while I don't doubt his existance I don't feel his presence.

I've tried praying more and sometimes I feel like I've suddenly felt a stronger connection to God, but then I don't continue to feel it, so I wonder was I imagining the feeling because I wanted it?

Are there any books that you could recommend to me that would not so much convince me, but would reassure me?

I look to see God in others, but sometimes it's hard!!

Dave!

Have you had a chat with a priest? They might be able to give you direction more so than a book

Fanny Cradock

You could try joining an Alpha Course. It's an informal 10 week non-denominational course that is designed to answer some of the questions you may have. I've been meaning to go for an age now but with one thing and another I've not found the time.

Two books that I would recommend are: Mere Christianity by C.S.Lewis and Letters from a Skeptic by G Boyd

Creachadóir

I suppose I could go to a priest, but to be honest I don't really want to...is that bad!!! I might try those books. I guess, I want to have a stronger faith, but it's hard.

philologos

I generally read apologetics to strengthen my faith. You should definitely read Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis (Good suggestion Fanny Cradock )

MrPudding

Try the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. It will not reassure you, it will force you to really examine your faith and it may end up stronger because if it.

MrP

philologos

MrPudding wrote: »

Try the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. It will not reassure you, it will force you to really examine your faith and it may end up stronger because if it.

MrP

Hm, I have it on my bookrack. Personally I find it to be nothing special.

kelly1

Creachadóir wrote: »

I pray, and I've started to read the Bible, and I go to mass.

I believe in God....but then sometimes I feel a little lost and while I don't doubt his existance I don't feel his presence.

I've tried praying more and sometimes I feel like I've suddenly felt a stronger connection to God, but then I don't continue to feel it, so I wonder was I imagining the feeling because I wanted it?

Are there any books that you could recommend to me that would not so much convince me, but would reassure me?

I look to see God in others, but sometimes it's hard!!

Hello Creachadóir,

I think I know how you feel. Sometimes I feel like everything's rosy in the garden, spiritually speaking. I can feel God's grace working in me. Other times I feel far away from Jesus and you wonder why bother. And then I give myself a virtual kick on the backside for my lack of faith. Being a Christian is always rewarding even if it doesn't feel like it.

God consoles us sometimes to let us know He's there an that He loves us. But when He sees that we're becoming attached to the consolation and forgetting about who it comes from, He can withdraw consolation for our own good. The story of Job comes to mind.

Have you read about the lives of the mystical saints such as St. Faustina, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Padre Pio, Margaret-Mary Alacoque etc? I find them very inspirational indeed. We're all called to holiness. It's why we were created and the saints show us just what can be achieved with God's grace.

For a general book on spirituality, I'd recommed Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay. I also have a book called "The Fulfillment of All Desire" by Ralph Martin on order. Just have a look at the reviews on Amazon. Sounds like a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/Fulfillment-All-Desire-Ralph-Martin/dp/1931018367/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212614331&sr=1-1

God bless,
Noel.

kelly1

Jakkass wrote: »

I generally read apologetics to strengthen my faith. You should definitely read Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis (Good suggestion Fanny Cradock )

I've ordered this too!

PDN

Jakkass wrote: »

I generally read apologetics to strengthen my faith. You should definitely read Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis (Good suggestion Fanny Cradock )

An oldie, but a goodie.

Creachadóir

Thanks, that's definitely given me some food for thought. I suppose lately I've been hanging around people with a really strong faith, and it made me realise that I'm not as convinced as them. And I want that faith!

JimiTime

Creachadóir wrote: »

Thanks, that's definitely given me some food for thought. I suppose lately I've been hanging around people with a really strong faith, and it made me realise that I'm not as convinced as them. And I want that faith!

Personally I wouldn't look at what others are like and start comparing. You'll find there are alot of self-righteous folk who like to give such impressions and can be deceptive and cause confusion. Don't worry about other peoples faith, just work on your own. Do not be afraid of 'any' question, and don't be afraid of arriving at conclusions that may not be the standard. Honesty is the best policy. With honesty and prayer, you can't go wrong.

MrPudding

Creachadóir wrote: »

I suppose lately I've been hanging around people with a really strong faith, and it made me realise that I'm not as convinced as them. And I want that faith!

Surely faith is not something you have to force? Why do you have to be as convinced as them? maybe deep down you realise something that you can't or don't want to admit.

MrP

kelly1

MrPudding wrote: »

Surely faith is not something you have to force? Why do you have to be as convinced as them? maybe deep down you realise something that you can't or don't want to admit.

MrP

Boooooooooo!

TravelJunkie

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello Creachadóir,

God consoles us sometimes to let us know He's there an that He loves us. But when He seems that we're becoming attached to the consolation and forgetting about who it comes from, He can withdraw consolation for our own good. The story of Job comes to mind.

http://www.amazon.com/Fulfillment-All-Desire-Ralph-Martin/dp/1931018367/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212614331&sr=1-1

God bless,
Noel.

your para above is one of the silliest things I've read.

The God I know wouldn't 'withdraw consolation for our own good'.

To draw nearer to God OP, probably the best thing in my opinion is
a) make some quiet time (an hour at least). Somewhere quiet and safe where you won't be disturbed. Humble yourself before God, tell him you're bringing yourself before him and ask him to show you his prescence. There is also an enabler for this - praise and worship. You could buy some praise & worship songs in a Christian bookshoop to listen to during a period of this time. Singing along would be good too. Live Cds tend to be good.
Then read from the Bible because often it is another way through which God talks to us.

b) Fellowship is good. I'd agree with an Alpha Course as there is a support structure there because another way to get re-assurance is by talking to other Christians and learn from leaders.

Books are ok but also try the above.


Thanks for asking on this board.

Splendour

Creachadoir, you're reading the best book you could possibly read, as we are told in Romans:

16But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"[h] 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ

I most certainly don't 'feel' close to God alot of the time, but most relationships are like this when you think about it. If relationships were based on feelings alone we would never stick them out.
The Alpha course as suggested by Fanny is a great idea, I did one a few years back and it opened my eyes to alot of stuff I hadn't thought about before.

kelly1

TravelJunkie wrote: »

your para above is one of the silliest things I've read.

The God I know wouldn't 'withdraw consolation for our own good'.

Why is it silly? In any loving relationship, it's more important to give than to receive.

If someone only loves God so long as they receive consolation, then they don't really love God, do they? The love the consolation more than God. This is selfish. If some turns their back on God as soon as things go wrong, their love is lacking. We are supposed to love God for His own sake and not only for the gifts He gives.

Don't you agree?

BTW, I wrote the word "seems" when I meant "sees".

TravelJunkie

kelly1 wrote: »

Why is it silly? In any loving relationship, it's more important to give than to receive.

If someone only loves God so long as they receive consolation, then they don't really love God, do they? The love the consolation more than God. This is selfish. If some turns their back on God as soon as things go wrong, their love is lacking. We are supposed to love God for His own sake and not only for the gifts He gives.

Don't you agree?

BTW, I wrote the word "seems" when I meant "sees".

I agree with your post above but not with your statement that he would 'withdraw' consolation. (Consolation is your word, I assume you mean the feeling you get when you know that he is with you, a comforting feeling)

kelly1

TravelJunkie wrote: »

I agree with your post above but not with your statement that he would 'withdraw' consolation. (Consolation is your word, I assume you mean the feeling you get when you know that he is with you, a comforting feeling)

What I'm saying is that it's too easy to become attached to the consolation rather than God himself. To prevent this happening God could withdraw this consolation. This is what I read in the writings of Ss. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila etc.

JimiTime

Again, I think all these 'feelings' are too ambiguous to be given any creedence, and thus not really worth mentioning IMO. If you wish to believe they are some kind of Godly presence, then personally I'd say hold that opinion but keep it to yourself. I just think it makes it all wishy washy. I see little difference in this, and how the freaky cultish folk in the US get whipped up into a frenzy and start crying and shaking etc. Such is our desire to want a godly experience, we can often convince ourselves we've had one. I for one, remain a skeptic, and unless you can detail a gift of the spirit you recieved, then as far as I'm concerned, God didn't do anything. We have enough with his message to keep us faithful and build us up without ambiguous notions of being 'touched' by him. IMO. I said it before and I'll say it again, did God ever work in this ambiguous way throughout scripture? If so, please show me where.

AtomicHorror

Creachadóir wrote: »

Thanks, that's definitely given me some food for thought. I suppose lately I've been hanging around people with a really strong faith, and it made me realise that I'm not as convinced as them. And I want that faith!

Want or need? Neither may actually be the case. If you are actually happy as things stand, then there's probably no need to search for more. Faith can be a tricky thing. Sometimes when it is weak, and you grab on to it more firmly, you abandon reason entirely. For some, the realisation of that contradiction is the nail in the coffin for their faith.

Creachadóir

I had a thread on here a few weeks ago about my ex who broke up with me because he wants to be a priest (among other things). I guess, I'm trying to understand. So ya, I feel a need to build on my own faith. It's hard to understand something like that unless you have a very strong faith yourself!

(I asked for the thread to be deleted because it contained a lot of his personal details that I probably shouldn't have put on the web..and I was afraid he could be identified from the description/or that he'd identify himself)

Creachadóir

MrPudding wrote: »

Surely faith is not something you have to force? Why do you have to be as convinced as them? maybe deep down you realise something that you can't or don't want to admit.

MrP

I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at but as I've mentioned above I guess I do have unusual reasons for wanting to have a stronger faith. It's not that I want to have a faith contest with anyone! But I guess my faith needs to be stronger to understand the situation that I've found myself in.

AtomicHorror

Creachadóir wrote: »

I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at but as I've mentioned above I guess I do have unusual reasons for wanting to have a stronger faith. It's not that I want to have a faith contest with anyone! But I guess my faith needs to be stronger to understand the situation that I've found myself in.

It sounds to me like what you actually need is time to heal! If faith helps that, then that's fair enough but time is the key. We've all been there.

MattKid

Faith is an act not a feeling.

AtomicHorror

MattKid wrote: »

Faith is an act not a feeling.

True, but what's your point?