Need advice regarding my spiritual life?

Ever since i can remember, as a little girl, i went to church, and did everything i was supposed to do. But as i grew up, i started to slowly depart from God. Now, i feel as if i don't even have a relationship with God anymore. I've lisened to soo many preaches and now it's like I already know all that stuff and I don't feel as if i need it anymore- in another words, i feel ';numb'; to the Word of God. I need some help- I know i have to get back on track with my relationship, but i don't know how.- and when i pray, it's as if i;m talking to myself... I need some serious advice. (please no silly answers, and no ';turn to islam'; advices, please. Thank you.)Need advice regarding my spiritual life?
I think there may be the most important ingredient missing to your relationship with God. I do not know you , so I could be wrong, so please don't take this as judging. But when I read your question it seemed like to me the Lord was speaking directly to my heart these words for you.


';Going to church and doing everything you were supposed to do'; does not constitute a relationship with God. The only way you can have one is through Jesus Christ. All the church going in the world will not get you there. You must admit that you are a sinner, in need of a Savior- once you do that and repent and He becomes your Savior, then you can grow in your walk, and become closer to Him. You may have already ';prayed the prayer'; when you were a child, but you may need to rededicate your life to Him. God promises that when you seek Him, you will find Him- you can only do this through Jesus however, so start at the Cross- He is waiting for you to come home- Ask God to spiritually open your eyes to Him, and you will see Him. Know that I will be praying for you - God loves you!!Need advice regarding my spiritual life?
It might be that you need to ';take a break'; for a while. Don't force prayer on yourself, don't go to church for a while. You might just need some time out. (Don't worry, God won't go anywhere).





Perhaps you need to get away from the organisation of the Church and the preachers etc. Maybe spend some time without them, and get to know God again on your own terms, in your own way.
first of all u need to unederstand the relationship between human and God............. u should be very clear that it doesn't matter if u run away from Him........... u need God He doesn't need u.... God is inside u, for God u dont hav to look outside rather look inside....... mediate and establish communication with Him........ u will feel peace
Your story sounds like the one I had. I was very unhappy with my life at one time and didn't know why. I finally just sat down one day while I was alone and told God that I didn't love Him. I asked Him to help me love Him.





Within 2 weeks some events started to happen in my life. I was introduced to Jesus as my friend. I had always had a belief in Him but, not a personal relationship with Him. This was around 25 years ago and I have not tired of Him. I love Him more every day. I will pray for you to have this wonderful relationship with your Lord and Savior too. May God bless you.
Warning: before you read this, I don't have an answer. I'm just telling you what I went through. I used to feel the same way. When I was little and went to church it just seemed hypocritical. The services were like fashion shows, imperfect people were always judging everyone else, everyone was always nebbing into everyone else's buisness... and not for charitable reasons. I just started talking to God one day, saying whatever I wanted, not in prayer form, just regular talking. It just doesn't seem right that one should ';need'; a priest to communicate with God because the bible says God loves us all the same. Through talking with Him on my own level, I think I have a better relationship with him now. I love God and I know he's there, I can't explain why... maybe because loving God is trusting him and knowing he is there without looking for physical proof. But, if I was looking for proof, I know of many things that happened in my life where it seemed like someone was watching over me and getting me thru. I'm still looking for a church though... one where you wear what you want, is not too seemingly preachy-perfect, and people don't judge you over trivial things. Maybe you are looking for the same thing, hopefully both of us will find it one day. I'll pray for us both! Good luck!
Go find something by C.S. Lewis.





Everybody's spiritual life has its ups and downs and dryspells. That's not unusuall at all.





I know what you mean about going to Church and having heard it before.





So I'd recomend two things. Keep praying...even if it seems like you are talking to yourself, just keep going. Prayer is like exercise (the Catholics call it ';spiritual exercises'; even) and exercise sometimes gets dry and uncomfortable and it takes a while to pay off.





Second, like I said, go find a Christian author who interests you. C.S. Lewis is probably the best there is... The Great Divorce is my absolute favorite book by him, get a copy if you can...Screwtape Letters is well thought of too. If you really want a challenge go for St. Augustine's Confessions





They will get you going again.





Good luck and God bless.
The simplest way to get back on the track is to meditate for some time on daily basis. The most important thing in this respect is that you start asking questions from yourself that Who could be the real Creator of this Universe? ';I wish I can truely perceive the real Creator';. Keeping your eyes shut ask the question,'; O, the real Lord of this Universe, I very sincerely wish to turn to You. Kindly help me guide from darkness to light and protect me from going astray. I simply wish to tread the right path.'; Also please express your helplessness with a strong yearning for the truth. On this occasion you presume as if you are sitting in front of the Creator and asking Him very humbly for something you badly need.


This is really a very tricky issue. Many religious people also fail to attain the real perception of the real Creator of the Universe. The pre-requisite for getting on the right track is sincerity as the entire knowledge cannot match the smallest quantity of sincerity and honesty. If you shall honestly desire to establish relations with your Creator, You will surely get on the right track. And once you rejoin Your Creator you will feel your body and soul enlightened.


I am sure You will get this light as you have the urge for truth. At the end of these submissions I pray that You may dicover the ultimate truth.





Best regards





Gul





unitedmankind@yahoo.com
In name of GOD, The Beneficient , The Mercifull.





Dear Friend, that's great, that's nice, and is the most beautifull thing and shows the purity of your heart that u feel to be going away from GOD- you have no idea, neither me that how much reward this feel may have already bring into your life, it totally represents your affection towards HIM, this is the most precious gift a man(humans) can give to GOD, to tell HIM that you feel HIM somehow. and listen, GOD says in Quran or in some saying of our Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), that ';GOD loves his people 70 times more than the mothers';.


at one more point there is a sying that, ';Whenever a person goes one step towards HIM, he comes 10 steps towards the person.'; so what this all reflects is that GOD surely loves us, we are too much blind and too much materialistic to see HIM, how shame is this that we human in today's most technological world are unable to see our creator, u just keep on remebering HIM even if it feels dumb to you, and LISTEN TRY to CRY FOR HIM, TEEL HIM, YOU NEED HIM, and even then if tears do not come into your eyes, PRETEND in front of HIM that you are crying, and u better do it secretly on night before sleeping. BAPTIZE you heart with the tears of your EYES. Surely HE will show you the right path.


MAY HE BLESS YOU, AMEN
Renewing your faith is not hard. You just need to find more interesting stories hun.


I don't go to church much anymore but, I really like Dr. Arnold Murray who is Pastor of The Shepherd's Chappel on T.V. in the early morning where I live in Indiana.


The same old scripture is BORING sometimes! LOL!


He makes it more interesting by taking letters from people 'n stuff.


Free CD called the ';mark of the beast'; is at 1-800-643-4645 and you can listen to his message regarding protection from popular misunderstandings about this subject.


Hang In there,........keep your chin up!


The Holy Spirit is inside you. You just need to WAKE IT UP!
You need to repent and make Jesus the Lord of your life.


You need to be sure you have been born again.


Fast and Pray and ask God to guide you, (read the Bible)


God should guide you to a good church where you can serve.





When you have been a Christian a long time, you have pretty much heard all of the sermons. Then you need to be teaching others and praying and witnessing to others..


Once you are saved then it is all about service to others.. Works don't save you, but they are what you do to serve God once you are saved.. They will also bring satisfaction to your life as yousee others grow..


The lady below 4HIM has a good testimony..


the Adorehim lady has very good advice too..


I would say that God is speaking to you through these people.
THE BEST ADVISE IS FROM GOD,THE HOLY BIBLE,KJV.


READ THE HOLY BIBLE DAILY,ASK THE LORD FOR HIS FORGIVENESS,AND TO TAKE AWAY THAT STONE HEART


AND GIVE YOU A LOVING HEART,DO IT WITH ALL YOUR HEART ,SOUL AND SPIRIT.PRAY IN A QUIET PLACE AND READ OUTLOUD,JUST ENOUGH FOR YOU TO HEAR,FAITH COMES BY HEARING THE WORD OF GOD,BE STRONG AND BELIEVE.WE ALL NEED HIS WORD,HE SAID WE CANNOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE,BUT BY THE WORD OF GOD.IT IS SPIRITUAL.


Study to show thyself approved


2Tm:2:14: Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.


2Tm:2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.


2Tm:2:16: But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.


2Tm:2:17: And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;


2Tm:2:18: Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.


2Tm:2:19: Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.


2Tm:2:20: But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.


2Tm:2:21: If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.


2Tm:2:22: Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.


2Tm:2:23: But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.


2Tm:2:24: And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,


2Tm:2:25: In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;


2Tm:2:26: And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.


GOD BLESS,HE IS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD
Have you tried fasting? Sometimes when you ';fast'; it doesn't mean food either. You can take something you enjoy away from yourself to concentrate only on God. Have you been baptized in the holy spirit? Sometimes when you just cry out ';Jesus'; over and over again, He just has this tendency to reappear in your life. Do you read your Bible daily? Sure, you listen to the preachers, but do YOU study your Bible and look for answers? Sometimes you just need to praise God even when you just don't feel like it. Sing to Him, call out to Him LOUDLY...I have done these things many times to draw closer to Him. Carnal knowledge is different from spiritual knowledge...you may know all about that Bible, but you must really seek him spiritually.
What makes you think you're so different from God?





';He helps those who help themselves...';
I think you might find that if you changed denominations you would hear some new things in the sermons. And the other differences might make you feel more excited about the church. I'm not sure however that you can ever regain the relationship you had with him as a child, because that relationship was determined by the way your brain worked at the time. You need to find a way to be with him as an adult. Try rereading your Bible. You may see it in a whole new light.
That is a good news. You have left the dogma behind and started a new real spiritual journey. Quite like myself.


Go on. Do not leave the search. It may get difficult sometime. But you will come to know now or later. Yes, meditation, yoga will help.





Good Luck.
I guess my question is when you say you feel numb to the word of God do you mean the Bible itself or the words of preachers etc..?





I have been in a very similar type situation and what brought me back was simply the realization that the bible clearly teaches that God does not walk away from us only we can walk away from the relationship. He loves you and if you have come back to Him and asked forgiveness for walking away then you must simply believe that he will. (I Thessolonians - ';Faithful is he who has called you; who also will do it.';)





A good way to get back on track is to set aside a special time each day to study his word and communicate with him. Work at really developing your relationship,remember its just like any other relationship in that it only survives if there is frequent communication. Finding a good devotional book would probably help. I personally really liked the Purpose Driven Life
talk to GOD, be kind, forgive people, any good thing u think can do , and ask GOD to help u!
I have felt like that at times in my life too. It would take too long to explain how i know this, but trust me... G-d knows your struggle to feel close to Him and He truly is there and really cares. At one time in my life, I thought He had abandoned me, because nothing was going right, even though I had done everything right and had not sinned. I then lost faith, even though I needed it more than ever. Things of course got worse, but even so... He would communicate things to me in the physical and spiritual realm that was unmistakably G-d... (if that makes any sense) even though I didn't FEEL Him as close as much as I used to, I could SEE that He was in fact, there and cared very deeply about what happened to me. I then regained my faith and also gained a total TRUST in Him for and with EVERYTHING that I could not have had otherwise. (I hope that makes sense to you) Anyway... I don't know why the feelings go sometimes, but I think it has something to do with spiritual growth. It's like... He wants you to trust Him, and remember how He revealed Himself to you in the past so that you don't HAVE to go off your feelings anymore. Also, our human emotions can be misleading. I believe He is teaching you and helping you to trust Him by your knowledge and by your will instead of feelings alone. But don't worry, as you put your love and trust in G-d and as you serve Him the best you can while practicing what He is giving you to learn, the feelings will return to you.
Even though u feel numb of the word of god there is always going to be something new.......Pray but dont pray with words pray with ur heart ..pray for protection and pray to learn something new because there is always going to be something new that u never heard knew......discover what u need to know.....maybe listen to some christian music or worship music ........dont think that u have heard everything because there still alot of things that us humans still learn from the word of god....good luck and pray
Try meditation [listening]. ~ : )
Please! don`t make a church services/activities like some kind of a movie....by just watching, observing, or being not concentrated to the lesson learned from God`s every word ...probably because you are with friends, lovers, family, communities, childhood group, etc. or even attending in the church alone... but so busy planning your activities for today, tomorrow, the whole week/month/year, or worst is...recalling the unsavory past, quarrel experience, or just the sweet yesteryears. What is more dangerous is...when you`re attending church is just to show your sunday duties/obligations, show to friends/neighbors that you are normally in church because you are a Christian.





Christian is never in a person label kind of meaning. It is private... coming from the heart. God label you ';His'; if your heart longs for Him, if you befriend Him (He wants to be your best friend), He feels elated if you constantly call Him every seconds of your life, talk to Him, tell Him everything (whether you are happy, sad, help someone or you have help somebody, or if you can/can`t successfuily resist temptations %26amp; sinning, or if you do/don`t have the capacity of witholding (anger, gossip, treacherousness, vengeful, easily get angry, hatred, tell lies, etc). He wants to know what you think of Him (God), your friends, parents, neighbors, country...and what are your plans in the future, dreams, ambitions...and why?





If you have heard God`s word for today, reflect on it, imprint it in your mind...and do it everyday (so that God will be happy to see that you have learned from His word, practice living on it everyday...then, when you are very good in this meaning...you can help others by best advicing them the real meaning of Gods word and God will be happy for you in saving other sinners of this world.)...then another Sunday, another learned lesson from His word...so on and so forth. Then it won`t be a boring Sunday already with boring ';WORD'; because you make an impact by living it yourself, and helping guide others to God`s way.


If you have memorized PRAYERS, it is not good...because you are talking prayers without even knowing what you are talking actually, or you do not mean what you talk %26amp; pray.


Please mean what you say in prayers. Eg. ';The Our Father';. Pray as slow as you can be that you understand every word you say. Then, in your daily life, please remember...mean what you say in prayers. (you are talking to a God and He is real, and heard what you say...but did you mean/do something real out of your prayers?) Giving meaning to the Our Father prayer itself will cost you whole life to mean and do it actually. Very hard to do and mean what you say, especially if you prove to Him/God what you mean to say...while it is very easy for a God to mean what He say because He has everything, all poweful, all forgiving, real good.


When you pray, better be in your room, quite places where you can focus on God and just talk to your mind (don`t let voices comes out your mouth), or let your hearts talk to God (meaning...what you genuinely felt, the truth whether good or bad, what you really are thinking without censors, because God reads your mind...so, you can`t lie.)


Every church, has its own set of important topic, or bible passages to talk with the people. Their gospels may be the same all over in every 3-5 years program. So, if you think you understand well the Word and its explanation or learned lesson from the church...then you are ready to explore other bible passages (outside their prepared set passages to be discussed) on your own by reading it yourself.


If you get hold of The Holy Bible, I assure you, this is one of the most interesting book ever published in our world. It deals with real life, real God, the story of our world creations, the life of our anscestor in this world from beginning to end, climaxed by ';revelations'; (foretold end of times.) Then, here, you will know well who God is, His intentions of making our universe, His hearfelt feelings for His people, and the people`s doubt, denial %26amp; treacherousness towards their God, and then God`s reactions to disloyalty, punishments and forgiveness...then, His plans for all us in the future.


Still, so many knowledge left to be learned %26amp; absorbed, so many mysteries to be uncovered. If you just look into each matter one by one, you would see...each second is very important as the whole story of our life, so thrilling to see, watch %26amp; anticipate... what comes next ??? (when you can feel the pulse of near ending world time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )


Don`t waste any time, getting bored without knowing our God...because the world is about ';God'; and ';us'; and near ending. Please be prepared for end times.


Good luck.....and.....Be Blessed !
I hear ya... it happens to me sometimes too. I don't know if there's any quick-fix to this... but in my case, I just stick to it. Go to church even if there are times when the words just pass through your head (the same reason why you still eat at least once a day even if you don't have an appetite)... surround yourself with spiritually enriching friends... serve others... don't hesitate to ask for prayers, and try to pray yourself and ask for more of God in your life (I know, it could be very hard to do so, I'm experiencing that myself)





There are times where I struggle with issues similar to yours, but I sincerely believe that anyone who earnestly seeksGod and wants a relationship with him will have it -- read Mat 7:7-8.





You can also read some of the answers some people gave for my question, I find them quite encouraging. God bless!
No one on Y-answers, knows it all, No one minister knows it all, %26amp; You do not know it all.





Take it to the One that Knows it ALL.





Be patient. You are on your way to further development. You will see. The test of patience is the most difficult.
Seriously - make it personal. make it between you and god. No need for a church- if you believe in the bible and god, then you know god is everywhere.





Take a break - seriously. Take a day off, go out into the country and just look at things. Feel things. Experience th whole thing. It will help you regain some balance, so piece of mind, and hopefully come to peace with god.





God's not that church, that group of hypocrites, not us - but he's in each. Find him for yourself, outside of all that.





You'll know when it happens. God and you can be as a state of mind.
You are proving your calling. You notice the absence of a vital part of yourself. That part is the part of you that God OWNS! Yes, that's right, he has laid a claim on you that is undeniable.





What you have to do is not wait too long to respond. What I see in your future is a scene where you just want to get away from everybody you know for a while. Perhaps driving on a lonely strech of road, crying your eyes out. That would be the best thing for you. It's true repentance in action. You wasted precious time wandering around and paying no attention to the things that matter. You were going your way for far too long.





So your heart is about to get bashed, your pride sunk, because you paid attention to yourself while leaving the God who paid the price for your sins.





You see, he died for you, and you acted like it was nothing important. If that makes you ashamed of yourself, that's the right reaction. Now get with him, and tell him what he already knows, that you love him more than life itself, and you want to never do what you've been doing all this time.





You see, some of us have been there already. That's how I know.
Talk to your GOD with faith. It is your faith that will bring you back.
Hey..Donno if I, or for that matter anybody, can advise you regards your belief in God. But, your concern really sounds serious. And, at the face of it, it seems that you really want to re-invent your faith in God. Honestly we all forget about god whenever we are in our good days and times; and remember him only when we face problems in life. And dont worry about establising the relationship again; if 'He' is willing, he will create situations around you, that will bring you closer.





Always remember, its he who brings us closer to him; and even if we try our level best - we cant get close enough. His will is most important. My mom tells me - ';Just think about him at the beginning and the end of your day. And he will think about you more often.';





So, be the good person that you are, leave yourself loose, and dont feel bad about it.. :-) He listens to one and all. He will show you the way.





Remember - He has many children to take care of; and he will be with you whenever he thinks you need him the most..So, cheers..
Wow! Reading about your Life experience is a lot like reading my own. I can tell you what has been helpful for me.





The most important thing I've learned is to Know the difference between Knowledge and Beliefs; you can believe anything, but you can only Know Truth.





If you want to Know God, talk to someone who Knows God. I'm not talking about someone who knows what they Believe about God, I'm talking about someone who KNOWS God. I can tell you ahead of time you're going to have difficulty finding such a person, so why not start with what YOU Know about God. Think you don't Know anything? You'll be surprised what you Know when you start looking for it! It'll be one of those head-slapping moments!





If you want to start with something that may be a little easier, why don't you start by sitting down with pen %26amp; paper and writing down what you Know about yourself? For example, just by reading your question I can write down the following things I Know about you (if the information contained in your question is Truth): 1) You are female. 2) You have a good memory. 3) You were raised a Christian 4) The Christian Beliefs aren't working for you anymore. 5) You are intelligent. 6) You are more Spiritual than you realize. See how easy it is?





Once you've written down what you Know about yourself, pick another person and write down what you Know about them. Here it gets considerably more difficult, because the person you pick will most likely not Know themselves, and the things you Know about them will just be their Beliefs about themselves. If you truly want to know a person you must first help them to Know themselves; if they don't Know themselves how can anyone else Know them?





If you follow this procedure, you will eventually (and inevitably) end up back at God, and you will have gained a great deal of insight into Yourself, Others, and God.





Remember, Spirituality is a search for Knowledge; Religion is a system of Beliefs.





If any of the above has been helpful, and you would like to have a discussion, please feel free to e-mail me.
Are you sure ';God'; is even real? If you don't believe in that stuff, then it doesn't matter. Religion causes war. War causes deaths. I'd rather not be a part of all that nonsense. I'm just going to live my life how I see fit, not how ';God'; sees fit.