Faith without feelings?

[HoldingGodsHand]

What I wonder is how can you still have faith when you have no feeling of God in your heart or even sense that He’s near? For me now, I have no feeling of God’s presence or basically I have no feelings at all. It’s just pretty empty inside and my faith has not been in a good place. My prayer life is not good, it’s become so hard just to pray. I did go to confession yesterday and I am still going to church every Sunday. Otherwise I have absolutely no feelings of faith in me in anyway. How do I have a faith without any feelings? There is no joy or hapiness in me and hasn’t been for a very long time. Even though I tell myself “God is still there” it doesn’t help and feel no better with just the thought. My faith journey has been tough, I struggled with many questions and doubts. While seeking God I ended up on the wrong path it seems. It wasn’t my intention to be on the wrong path but I ended up here anyways. I don’t see a way out or off of this dead end path. So I know I can’t rely on my feelings, but don’t know how to have faith without them. To me it feels like I have no faith at all and I’m not even sure what makes faith…faith?

 

[JohnJFarren]

Dear HoldingGodsHand –
Yes, definitely there can be true faith without any feelings. This understanding is very important for our growth and continued perseverence in our spiritual life. Jesus is our supreme model. He became like us in every way, as Scripture says (except his personal sin, of course). Every temptation we could possibly experience Jesus did experience. Think of Jesus in his agony on the Cross. His faith and trust in his Father was very strong but all his feelings, emotions, were in deepest misery. At this time especially Satan was temptiing him – it was Satan’s last chance. In Luke after Jesus’ three temptations – which were real and very strong – Satan "departed from him for a time." If you have comments or questions about what I’ve written, please let me know. Be strong. Unite with Jesus on the Cross. I send Jesus’ Love for you to you. JohnJFarren

 

[Dorothy]

Yes, we can make acts of faith without feelings. Feelings are sensory and pleasant, but we do not have to depend on them for our prayer life, because they come and go.

When we make acts of faith and love without feelings, we are cooperating with the Lord who wishes to strengthen our faith.
This is one way that we mature in our faith.

All the Doctors of the Church on prayer have explained about this part of our prayer journey.

Do not fear…He will not test us beyond our strength. When He so wills, He will comfort us.

 

[JRKH]

What I wonder is how can you still have faith when you have no feeling of God in your heart or even sense that He’s near? For me now, I have no feeling of God’s presence or basically I have no feelings at all. It’s just pretty empty inside and my faith has not been in a good place. My prayer life is not good, it’s become so hard just to pray. I did go to confession yesterday and I am still going to church every Sunday. Otherwise I have absolutely no feelings of faith in me in anyway. How do I have a faith without any feelings? There is no joy or happiness in me and hasn’t been for a very long time. Even though I tell myself “God is still there” it doesn’t help and feel no better with just the thought. My faith journey has been tough, I struggled with many questions and doubts. While seeking God I ended up on the wrong path it seems. It wasn’t my intention to be on the wrong path but I ended up here anyways. I don’t see a way out or off of this dead end path. So I know I can’t rely on my feelings, but don’t know how to have faith without them. To me it feels like I have no faith at all and I’m not even sure what makes faith…faith?

Well - you sound like me in so many ways…Especially the doubts and not “feeling” God close…

You are not sure what faith is…I’m not sure any of us are - except that we know that faith itself is not a “feeling” - rather it is more of a “conviction”.
When we look at the terms used in Scripture, we see “belief”, and “trust” used a lot…This is, to me, the root combination of what “faith” embodies. It is more than simply belief, there is an embracing - a trust - a hope and an expectation - associated with it.
None of these things are necessarily a “feeling” though certainly there can be feelings associated with them.

There is another rather peculiar thing about “feelings” - and even about convictions and such…We can feel like they are diminishing or even absent even if they are still there - and at the same intensity.
As a simple example. On a wintery morning one gets up. The house is warm, but because you just got out from under the blankets, it strikes you as cool. You toss on a robe and dash out to the driveway to grab the newspaper…Brrrr it’s cold outside…then you dash back in and the house that just minutes ago seemed “cool” now seems toasty warm.
Now you get undressed and jump in a hot shower…Boy that water is hot…but you quickly acclimatize and then, when you get out the air in the bathroom that just a few minutes ago felt nice and warm, now feels cold…

Spiritual “feelings” are like this. We can think God is not close simply because he has been near for so long. We can think He is not giving as many graces - only because we are so use to the graces that we don’t notice them in the same way.

We are taught in Scripture to gauge our faith, not by how we feel, but by how we are moved. St James speaks of faith without works being dead. Jesus speaks in Mt 25 about judgement based on action (which show a living faith). In John we are told that the world will know we are God’s by our love for each other (Agape) - again an action and a state of being - a commitment - more than an emotion.

We all struggle in the way that you describe. For myself, my lenten work is to improve my prayer life - which was dismal. It is still being a struggle. The “sense” that God is near…well I don’t really feel it. But I can sense how I am drawn, what my intentions and desires are - to Love and to grow in that Agape for the Glory of God.
The rest I just leave to Him.

I wish I could address the matter of your not being happy, but perhaps the more you come to understand these other matters the more joy you will find in just resting in His heart.

God Bless you

Peace
James

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

It’s important to remember that our faith isn’t dependent on feelings. Faith is an act of the will, not a feeling. We know through faith that God is still there even if we can’t feel Him. Even when we commit a mortal sin, God is still there, but the relationship is severed. It’s important to remember that God doesn’t go away. He can’t.

As we progress through the spiritual life, God strips us of these feelings in order to purify us and strengthen us. We need to be purified because we need to pray to seek God, not to seek feelings. We need to be strengthened because we need to be prepared for when our faith is really tried and desolation kicks in.

The best thing a person can do in these situations is to resign themselves to God’s will, and do the best they can to maintain their prayer life. If it falls to pieces, then one should not fall into despair and give up, but rather pick themselves back up and try again. During these times our prayer, even if it weren’t as fervent as it was when we were feeling pleasures in our prayer, is more efficacious simply because of the difficulty we experience in persevering in it.

 

[fred_conty]

It doesn’t seem to me you are questioning your faith.

What you are questioning is your emotional high which disappeared, and equating that with faith.

Faith is believing what Jesus said. That is all you have to go on all the time. You believe that Jesus is the man-God as he said. That he died for you on the cross to allow you to be with him forever in happiness. That he loves you in a genuine way and has given you the means to make you holy in the Father’s sight.

That is what faith is…believing that and not how you do or don’t feel about it.

When you receive communion, he said, “he who eats my body and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him.” This statement by the Son of God says nothing about how warm you feel about it. Faith’s response is “my lord and my God.” Lean on your faith he has given to you and not yourself. You will fail yourself often. His faith he grants to you is a living faith and will never fail you.

Belief is what Jesus is looking for and is what will support you.

Sometimes he will grant you a special gift of his closeness. Always thank him but with the remembrance that this is something special and not always the usual.

A suggestion…it will help to keep reading the gospels.

May God bless and keep you. May God’s face shine on you. May God be kind to you and give you peace.

 

[Lrabbitt]

Dear HoldingGod’sHand - I can relate. Sounds like you may be going through a bit of “dark night of the soul”. Consider that some great Saints, such as John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, Mother Teresa experienced faith without consolation for years. It is as John of the Cross points out, a method by which God purifies the soul. Jesus, too, in His worst agony on the Cross, felt completely abandoned by our Father.

For our love of God to be pure and true, the soul needs to (in the words of St. Francis de Sales): “Love the God of consolations rather than the consolations of God.” So, in His wisdom, our Loving God withdraws His consolations so our faith and love for Him alone are strengthened.

A very helpful book for me has been “Consoling Thoughts on the Trials of the Interior Life” a collection of essays by St. Francis de Sales on just what you are enduring.

Regardless of what you feel or do not feel, please know that God is very near you and loves you beyond measure. Be strong and endure in Jesus’ Holy Name.