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need prayer–having doubts
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Ladies,
I’m in real need of prayer right now. I’m shaking as I type this. The doubts I’m having aren’t about homeschooling, but about my salvation and whether God is even real. I don’t know why I’m having these feelings. I’ve gone through periods of doubt throughout my Christian life, but I’ve never once doubted that there is a God. And I don’t recall that the doubts have caused me to physically shake. I know the doubts are from Satan, but I don’t know why he’s after me at this particular moment. I’m no spiritual saint. I forget to pray except when things are bad; I used to be regular with prayer and Bible reading, but I’m not now.
I intend to make an appointment with my pastor this week to see if he can shed some light on this.
BTW, I’m SBC, if any of you need to know that.
Thank you for your prayers,
Karen
I will be praying for you too. I have no advice to offer, but I do think that sometimes when we have been under pressure for whatever reason, it is easier for our faith to be attacked, and for doubts to surface. Try and find time to read your Bible and I hope your pastor can give you advice and comfort. Bless you – Linda
Sometimes I think “If I were raised in a budhist home wouldn’t I believe that?” Like I am just believing what I have been taught. Then when I am reading the Bible to my kids in the back of my head I hear, “are they going to believe as an adult b/c I am telling them to or b/c they truly believe?” Whether people are Christians or not, Proverbs says to seek wisdom, gain wisdom, look for wisdom. I think that is valuable for any subject. Seek wisdom is my advice.
Dear Karen,
I’ll pray for you. Whatever is going on, it’s going to affect your children, they are so perceptive, and this is a spiritual battle. I’ll pray for a hedge of protection for your children too.
Renelle
Sovereign Lord God,
Karen is crying out for your mercy and grace. Thank You Lord that she has reached out for prayer, this shows her faith in You and Your power. Father, doubts seem to be overshadowing what she knows to be true. Surround her with Your love and truth. Please Lord God, manifest Your presence to her in a real and personal way that she will recognize as Your voice. Draw her to Yourself; help her to know You love her even when she doesn’t feel it. Remind her of Your promises, give her assurance that You are always faithful even when we are not. Fill her with Your Holy Spirit and help her to remember that Satan is a liar and a thief. Give her strength to resist the enemy’s onslaughts and turn to Your Word for the answers to her confusion and fear. I pray you will prepare the heart of her Pastor as she comes for his counsel.
I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ. Amen
Oh Karen, I have this sense to rejoice with you in this struggle. I believe God is drawing you closer to Himself and grounding you even deeper in faith “…work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” He is after you even more than satan is and is not surprised when we question our salvation ~ “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves……” Many great conversions have happened in a place of doubt ~ That way, God gets all the glory! “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.”
Some scriptures of great comfort come to mind………
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly or the salvation of the LORD…….
THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU, HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE! (Zephania 3:17)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR8rlTIU8_Y&feature=relatedKaren – I am praying for you right now, as well! You are wise to talk to your pastor and to realize that you are in the middle of spiritual warfare. I am certain that God is going to use this in your life and to strengthen your walk with Him. Do spend lots of time in His word right now, and if you are earnestly asking Him to show you what you need to see in it, He will be faithful to give you exactly what you need. Turn up the praise music and just know that you are so loved by Him.
Remember that there is so much to prove that God is who He says He is…I know that we are called to walk by faith, but there is so much out there that proves His existence…at a time like this it might encourage you to look at these things…you might look at “The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict” by Josh McDowell.
(((Hugs))) I’ll keep praying for you!
Psalm 136
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.13 to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.16 to him who led his people through the desert,
His love endures forever.17 who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.22 an inheritance to his servant Israel;
His love endures forever.23 to the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.24 and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.25 and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.Karen, I have and will continue in prayer for you. Have you mentioned this to your husband? I guess I should find out if he is a Believer first; if he is and you feel free to talk with him, G-d designed a supernatural covering of a husband over his family. As the priest of the home, he could anoint you with oil (if you do that), lay hands and pray over you daily and for the household; it makes a difference spiritually and you are not alone but properly covered. Many times I forget that I can turn to my husband in times like this too, to build me up provide protection in my weakness.
If he isn’t, then The L-rd is your husband and covering. I second Heather’s sense of your trial drawing you closer to him. May I encourage you to put on the armor of G-d? That way Satan can not steal it, like a thief in the back door. Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of G-d so that you can stand against the tactics of the Satan. 12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 13 This is why you must take up the full armor of G-d, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is G-d’s word.
Seeing the pastor is wonderful. Speaking from personal experience as having struggles with not sensing His Presence, just believing by the choice of my will; please immerse yourself in The Word, asking G-d for Wisdom James 5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask G-d, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.
When I am struggling I have found G-d keeps His Word in that if I immerse myself in His Word, in reading and hearing because He tells us in Romans 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. that He will take my feelings, that aren’t necessarily the truth, and deal with them and me. A few verses that help me stay focused is Psalm 121:1-2:I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? 2 My help comes from the L-rd, the Maker of heaven and earth. If you respond to G-dly music that Praises HIm instead of concentrating on feelings and current events; I encourage to choose, by your will, to Praise HIm, even as you struggle, and He will provide what you need (please read Proverbs 2:1-5); the confidence in what you’ve been taught and He will work through this, teaching you so much more than you ever learned that you may share w/your family. Read and meditate on the Psalms especially crying out as KIng David did: Lord, do not abandon me; my G-d, do not be far from me. Hurry to help me, L-rd, my Savior. and reject and cast down fear if there may be some that is contributing to your doubt. Many times I think they go hand-in-hand. Jesus’s Love for you is the only Perfect Love; ask Him to cast it out and He will; 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. Could your shaking be a physical sign of emotional torment? Another wonderful prayer for you, asked by King David in Psalm 51:10 G-d, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit.
I pray my experiences and what He has shown me will be a benefit to you; however this is a battle, but it is not new to us. I hope it will be helpful, to know you are not alone in this; remember that Eve’s sin was encouraged by Satan as doubting G-d’s Word and what He said; Sarah’s fleshly battle of doubt was due to her ‘human reason’ about the reality of her age, doubting G-d’s Word regarding a son. And on the flip-side of the faith battle is one of my favorite stories of the experience of Jacob in his battle with G-d and his name was changed to Israel-meaning “one who wrestles with G-d”. You may be wrestling with G-d and being internally tempted by the flesh; for whatever reason this may be an area in your walk that has always been a struggle for you-so now is the time to overcome it; pray against passing this curse of doubt and fear to the next generation; having a concern for them, as was mentioned above and rightfully placed, as Satan will use this to his benefit. But now you can be like Jacob; wrestling w/G-d, demanding a Blessing! and prevailing and becoming the woman of Faith that He has foreordained for you, just as Israel became the Man of faith that he did: Genesis 24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that He could not defeat him, He struck Jacob’s hip as they wrestled and dislocated his hip socket. 26 Then He said to Jacoar,b, “Let Me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.” 27 “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob!” he replied. 28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” He said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with G-d and with men and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.” But He answered, “Why do you ask My name?” And He blessed him there. 30 Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For,” [he said,] “I have seen G-d face to face, and I have been delivered and you too will be delivered and have a stronger testamony.
“The L-rd bless you and keep you; The L-rd make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The L-rd lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ‘Now may the G-d of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
One in Him who Loves you,
Rachel
I’m praying as well. Don’t be afraid to go to God and tell Him how you feel…even doubt! He’s there to lead you into Truth. He does not berate us for being truthful with Him about our feelings. Many times in my life I’ve prayed “Lord, I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.”, just as the man in Mark 9:24 said to Jesus. And He’s responded in love EVERY time.
Karen,
I am praying for you as well. If you have doubts, check out http://www.wayofthemaster.com There you will find a great deal of info! Just take time to go through it all.
This is a wonderful website that is very helpful dealing with the confusion of religion today. Please take a few minutes and read the information on it. 🙂
Praying for you,
Amanda
I see you are getting lot of advice. I do not know if you have “free reading”time, but I loved The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel. He was an athiest newsman who went looking for defense of atheism and ended up finding faith in Jesus to be the answer to all his questions. It is a very easy read. The thing I loved about it was that I come from a church my whole life/christian school background so it sometimes seems I don’t have a good defense for my faith b/c I have always had it. This gave me very concrete reasons for why I believe what I believe. I would recommend it to anyone, struggling or not. He has also written The Case for Christmas, The Case for Faith, and The Case for a Creator which is next on my reading list as we are finishing 106 Days and would love to hear his thoughts. Blessing to you through this time.
Thanks for all of your encouragement. I will read the Strobel book as soon as I can. About two years ago I read a book by Adrian Rogers, What Every Christian Needs to Know, or something like that. I only remember one sentence from the book. He was talking about those who doubt their salvation. He said, “You can’t doubt something you don’t have.” I think about that when I doubt, but it wasn’t enough last night.
The sermon today was from Hebrews 13:20-21. I don’t recall ever hearing a sermon on that topic. It hit home. I hope to see the pastor tomorrow or Tuesday. I haven’t made arrangements yet because tomorrow I have to wait for a phone call about medical tests dh had Friday. We suspect gallstones. Please keep him in your prayers as well. He’s miserable. He can’t sleep. He has no appetite and has lost 15 pounds in three months. He’s even given up diet cola (which is practically all he drinks) for water and fruit juice.
Thanks again,
Karen
Karen,
When I went through dry seasons in my Christian walk, what helped me to fully surrender to Christ and separate myself unto Him, was books by Hannah Whitall Smith and Andrew Murray, both who were Christians in the mid 1800’s whose books are powerful and used by God to reach millions of Christians. They both wrote about how the Christian life is without the SPIRIT OF GOD within them. It’s lived in the flesh and not in the Spirit. We cannot live this life on our own without His Spirit filling us up with His power. This power comes from fully surrendering and denying SELF and when we do so as He says in His Word, He can give us the power to obey and to believe.
Hannah W. Smith writes about doubts from satan and how to overcome. They both speak of the Higher Christian that is not preached about in churches (and still isn’t) that most Christians do not obtain. We are satisfied with being saved but we are dried up inside and think is this all there is?? But Jesus saved us from our sins NOW not in the future. He saved us to have an abundant life NOW. A life filled with peace and joy despite circumstances.
I promise you, Karen, these books which you can read online for free will bless you immensely! Please spend time with God on your knees daily in silent worship before Him. Listen to Him. Tell Him your doubts and pray He’ll help your unbelief. And be patient to wait for His answer. He is faithful. Pray in faith each day that He will show you how to have power through His Spirit to live the abundant life.
Andrew Murry’s books are excellent in explaining the Christian life and what Christ meant in the gospels by abiding in Him the vine, and how we are to be the branches and cannot live apart from Him.
Prayerfully,
Tara
Hannah Whitall Smith “Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life”
http://www.raptureready.com/resource/smith/smith.html
Andrew Murray, first read “Absolute Surrender”
http://victoryoversin.com/murray/
The Children for Christ (listed last at above site) is also called Raising Your Children for Christ and is excellent!
Then read:
Experiencing the Holy Spirit (have to purchase)
http://www.amazon.com/Experiencing-Holy-Spirit-Andrew-Murray/dp/0883684527
Both authors books are on this site:
http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/bookcat.htm
http://healingandrevival.com/BooksAMurray.htm
The Spirit of Christ (or The Indwelling Spirit) by Andrew Murray
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