Finding God

[marie77_99]

Hi everyone,
I was just wondering the different ways that everyone has discovered God. I have been praying and trying to discover our Lord, but I am finding it difficult. Church has become more of a habit than anything else. I’m not really sure where to start reading in the Bible. So i guess any personal stories people have, or advice would be great. Prayers help too

 

[Claire_from_DE]

Is there a church near you that’s unlocked during the day? A real good way to begin is to just sit there in front of the tabernacle for twenty minutes every day. He’s really there. Talk to Him honestly. Ask Him to increase your faith in His presence, to reveal Himself to you, and to draw you closer to Himself. You can also talk to Him about what’s going on in your life. If you are faithful in this He will answer you.

If you don’t know what to talk to Him about for twenty minutes, take a bible with you. Read something in the New Testament (maybe whatever was the reading for that day’s mass) and tell Him what you think about that. Ask Him questions, sometimes He will give you an idea. Take a little notebook with you and write down any good ideas you get.

I think Jesus is really happy when we do this. There He is, so available to us, and not many people even think to go to Him there. He’s very kind to those who do.

 

[fhansen]

Hi everyone,
I was just wondering the different ways that everyone has discovered God. I have been praying and trying to discover our Lord, but I am finding it difficult. Church has become more of a habit than anything else. I’m not really sure where to start reading in the Bible. So i guess any personal stories people have, or advice would be great. Prayers help too

I left the CC fairly young and at some point began seeking truth on my own. I found it through reading the bible, prayer, and His grace. I didn’t realize at the time, however, how much the CC had given me, but the point is that I had to come to want it-and seek it.

Read the New Testament first. Read it like any other book and turn off judgment as much as possible-let it speak to you, and give it time. And the Catechism of the Catholic is an invaluable resource for understanding the bible and our faith in general, of course. And we can pray for faith, like the man in Mark 9.

 

[GKCT]

I started with the Gospel of John, his is considered the gospel of love. But remember, God was never “lost” and so doesn’t have to be “found”. He is always there with you although you may not “feel” it. I came back after several years and the thing I remember about when I went to confession, the priest said, “God had never abandoned you, He is and was always there waiting for you”. Never forgot that.
Don’t let your emotions take over your love of God, let your mind and soul encompass Him.
Read also James, he will tell you about patience. God loves you always.

 

[marie77_99]

Thank you both GKCT and fhansen for the suggestions on reading. I will definetly start that. Claire sadly there isn’t a church that is open during the day, but i really do like your idea of having a notebook to write things down in. Thank you.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

Thank you both GKCT and fhansen for the suggestions on reading. I will definetly start that. Claire sadly there isn’t a church that is open during the day, but i really do like your idea of having a notebook to write things down in. Thank you.

That’s really sad but not uncommon these days. Several years ago I asked my pastor if I could have a key to the church and, to my surprise, he said yes. I was embarrassed to ask but I figured the worst that could happen is that he would refuse. It’s been a blessing. Now we have a key box beside the door with a combination. People can get the combination from the parish secretary. Sometimes it needs to be changed but they give it out to parishioners that ask.

 

[Edwin78]

Hi everyone,
I was just wondering the different ways that everyone has discovered God. I have been praying and trying to discover our Lord, but I am finding it difficult. Church has become more of a habit than anything else. I’m not really sure where to start reading in the Bible. So i guess any personal stories people have, or advice would be great. Prayers help too

Hi Marie77_99

I would suggest, first of all, to always remember this advice by St Francis de Sales and pray its prayer of confidence whenever you have doubts on the presence or existence of God (which honestly happens to me all the time, and this prayer has given me much help during those times):

It is good to mistrust ourselves, but how would that advantage us were we not to throw all our confidence on God, and to wait on His mercy? If you feel no such confidence, cease not on that account from making these acts and from saying to Our Lord: “Yet, O Lord, though I have no feeling of confidence in You, nevertheless, I know that You are my God, that I am all Yours, and that I have no hope but in Your goodness; so, I abandon myself entirely into Your Hands.” It is always in our power to make these acts; although we have difficulty in performing them, still there is no impossibility. Thus we testify faithfulness to our Lord.

Secondly, meditate frequently on one of the last words of Jesus Christ:

And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, “Eloi Eloi lema sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)

The main reason why we do not feel the presence of God in our lives is because of our sinful nature. Christian teachings say that for Jesus to save us on the Cross, He experienced all the consequences of sin, including the absence of God. Jesus knows your pain, your longing for God, because He experienced it Himself. Combine that knowledge with the doctrine of redemptive suffering, and this should give us great consolation and great power.

Thirdly, read what the others have suggested, but I would suggest also prayerfully reading them before or after, in a devotion called lectio divina. Here is an excellent article on beginning this devotion:

Fourthly, practice the devotion called daily examen of conscience, for it will show you that God was actually with you throughout the day. Here is a short yet excellent article about this.

And fifthly, and the most important, don’t do everything at once! Just pick out one or two from what I and the others have suggested. Prayerfully decide, then stick to those couple of devotions. Then when the time is right (I would say after a few weeks), add some more, if it seems that God is calling you to do more.

God bless you.

 

[Edward_H]

Great ideas.

I’ve found spreading my approaches to God over the couse of the day…like putting up telephone poles between an otherwise sagging line to be most helpful.

A sincere morning offering as soon as you get out of bed

5-10 minutes of Gospel reading everyday…entering the scene…asking questions as I go along…"where do I follow Jesus at a distance in my own life?

Memorize and say the Angelus at noon every day.

Visit a Tabernacle on the way home from work.

Adding God into the middle of your day…opening your mail with God…talking to Him as a son would be talking with his dear father on the cell phone. Reviewing your daily agenda with God…ok Lord, I am going to be visiting a client…help me to represent my company well and present my product with integrity. Help me to greet people joyfully. I’ll be tired at the end of the day but help me to ask my children about their day when I pick them up from school/camp. Give me patience and energy to ask my wife if she needs anything done around the house tonight. Remind me to pick up some flowers…just 2 or 3…and give them to her as a surprise.

Developing a more uninterrupted natural conversation with God everyday every hour, has helped me “Find God” in the middle of my day.

When getting ready for bed, review your day with God…what went well, what could have gone better, what are you going to do better tomorrow.

Hope these ideas help.

God Bless.

 

[marie77_99]

Thanks for the advice Edwin. It’s a very good idea to not start all at once. It did seem a little intimidating at first. Thank you as well for the very helpful articles you posted. They are really helpful . Thank you also Edward for the ideas to just add simple little prayers into my day. I have started doing that and it really does help. Thank you everyone for being so helpful. God Bless you all.