Need a just a tiny bit of help

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Prayer - to me people pray to get things. Material things. Is that correct?
 
Try reading St. Gemma’s diary, or St. Faustina’s. Sometimes it helps to read about how others experienced God in order to help us find faith. I particularly like this story on St. Anthony the Abbot.

www.catholic.org

St. Anthony the Abbot - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online

Two Greek philosophers ventured out into the Egyptian desert to the mountain where Anthony lived. When they got there, Anthony asked them why they had come to talk to such a foolish man? He had reason to say that -- they saw before them a man who wore a skin, who refused to bathe, who lived on ...
www.catholic.org www.catholic.org

Spiritual reading is conducive to the growth of spiritual life. Prayer is important, too. But spiritual reading can be a way of God speaking to you if you struggle with prayer.

God bless
 
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Well, since God created science, and everything there is why do you have trouble with Him?
 
Prayer is fundamentally about talking to God. Yes, sometimes that involves “asking for things”, but that shouldn’t be our primary focus.

For someone in your situation, I would say you should try to pray, and you can certainly keep it simple. Something like, “Hello, God. I’m not sure you are even real. I may just be talking to myself. But I’m hurting and need help. If you exist, please help me to encounter you and believe in you. Give me the gift of faith.”

And that can be all for now. Try saying something like that every day for a week.
 
What C.S. Lewis books have you read? Did you read “Mere Christianity”?
 
No trouble at all. There is no Him. I just don’t believe.

All I asked for was a tiny bit of help. Maybe it’s best to leave this forum.

TY ALL.
 
If you decide to leave, that’s certainly your prerogative to do so.

I’d just ask you to keep seeking the truth. Something brought you here. Don’t give up trying to figure out what that is.
 
We are helping. What do you want us to say? You’re right? There is no God.
There’s no way anyone is going to say that. Several people are praying for you.
I guess it’s not something you want to remedy.
 
dmbarker said:
Prayer - to me people pray to get things. Material things. Is that correct?
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Good grief, NO

Sometimes we make a request, the way you might ask your dad for an ice cream cone when you’re a little kid (and he might say no, or he might say okay)

But first you have to have a loving relationship with your dad, so you talk to him every day, because you love him, and you want to spend time with him, and he’s your dad.

You don’t just go up to some total stranger and ask for an ice cream cone.

If you haven’t spent time getting to know God, you don’t start by making a list of material requests. He’s not Santa Claus.

And the main point of prayer is getting to know God better and through doing that, receiving His grace and learning to be a better person yourself.

Not asking for material stuff that is going to pass away anyway.

I pray for a considerable amount of time each day and probably less than 10 percent of that time is me asking for a material anything.
 
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Two things.

First thing:

Mark 9:24

Second thing:

You need to be a bit more specific. What led you to this? What makes you unsure/an unbeliever? The problem of evil? Do you want proof? An experience?

I can bet money you’re like me. You’ve had something happen at some point, you can’t explain it but it makes you want to believe. You are convinced that it is silly to believe though but you decide to give it an honest shot convinced you will still come out an unbeliever. You may be surprised.

Give me specific points you need help with or else I’m stuck in vague land so I’m going to answer in vague land my friend. 🙂

Purpose of life:

Love

Reason for suffering:

Freedom, sin, and love

Proof of God:

Human heart+ try Thomas Aquinas

Advice:

I know it seems awkward but try praying about this. Just try again and again.

LAST SUPER SUPER SUPER IMPORTANT NOTE THAT MAY REALLY HELP YOU

What do you think about the historicity of Jesus? I’ll try to show you a proof of God but I need to know your opinion on the historicity of Christ first.
 
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It’s a tough question to answer. Please don’t get frustrated if you don’t find the answer right away.

On a side note, I get the feeling that you are struggling with serious depression. I would really encourage you to see your doctor about it if you haven’t yet. I say this in all charity… my wife suffers from bipolar disorder and some of the things you’ve said sound the way she sounds when she’s in a depressive episode.

Seeing a doctor obviously won’t help you with your faith, but there is no reason to suffer needlessly.

I hope you find the answers you seek, and I will pray that you do. Feel free to message me if you need someone to talk to.
 
Maybe visit a catholic church before mass and think about going to confession. Confessing that you haven’t been attending mass on Sundays is a good start.
 
Is there anything you enjoy doing? Walking in the woods, writing, any kind of hobby or past time? What would you do if you were out of the rat race of work/modern life?
 
dmbarker said:
Books about evolution, Homo Sapiens, Does God exist, why God doesn’t exist, books on Catholicism, C.S. Lewis, tried the Bible. I have lots of books on the subject.
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Have you tried reading Thomas Aquinas or books about Thomas?

May I suggest some of the following books that use Classical Philosophy to argue that God exists?

These 3:

shop.catholic.com

Five Proofs of the Existence of God

Explore detailed philosophical proofs of God's existence in "Five Proofs For The Existence of God" from Ignatius Press.
shop.catholic.com shop.catholic.com

https://shop.catholic.com/new-proof...tions-of-contemporary-physics-and-philosophy/


Plus some of following:

shop.catholic.com

Beginning Apologetics Volume 4: How to Answer Atheists and New Agers

Learn the basis of the atheistic and new age belief systems, as well as how to give a Catholic response when faced with the questions that will inevitably come up while in conversation with atheists and new agers.
shop.catholic.com shop.catholic.com



God Bless and Godspeed on your journey of faith
 
dmbarker said:
There was a study done

3 groups of people 1. Prayed 2. Didn’t pray
  1. Control group.
No statistical differences between the groups=

Praying doesn’t work??? IDK.
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There were other studies done that showed that prayer has benefits. Here is one that comes to mind:

www.sciencedaily.com

Power of prayer: Studies find prayer can lead to cooperation, forgiveness in relationships

Praying for a romantic partner or close friend can lead to more cooperative and forgiving behavior toward the partner, according to a new study.
www.sciencedaily.com

I am praying for you. May the Holy Spirit assist and guide you always toward greater faith, hope, and love. 💖
 
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I am a scientist. It makes no sense.

Just pray. And not for material goods, but for the gift of faith
 
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Since eternity is an awfully long “time” to be either rewarded or punished, this is something to ponder. Heck, for that matter, here on earth is an awfully long time to be in doubt. Many of the greatest thinkers in human history have pondered what you are pondering; have entertained the same doubts; have suffered the same spiritual emptiness.

What if you could be in Christ’s presence? Wouldn’t that be somewhat convincing? Isn’t that worth the investment of a certain amount of time? Isn’t clarity of belief something to strive toward? I think so. Here’s the deal: it is Christ sacramentally present in the Holy Eucharist. Looks like bread, but we know it is Him.

How do we know that?

He said so.

Go to your parish website and see when they offer Adoration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Then, take a good book (or not) with you. St in His presence. Lay your doubts and uncertainties before Him.

Then, be as patient with Him as He has been with you. When you receive your confirmation of His presence, your consolation, you will be changed.

He came that you might have life, and life in abundance. He is waiting for you.

Full story, bro’
 
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TY to everyone who replied to me yesterday.
I was limited to 22 replies the site said so I couldn’t reply last night.

Thanks for the prayers, book recommendations, and other guidance.

How do you KNOW for certain that God exists? Something inside you? A feeling? An emotion? Some kind of energy? Different for everyone?

On a test, I can DEFINITELY KNOW what answer is correct. Maybe that’s a bad anology.

I just don’t feel ANYTHING. I’ve gone to church, I’ve read books and pamphlets. Nothing.
 
dmbarker said:
How do you KNOW for certain that God exists? Something inside you? A feeling? An emotion? Some kind of energy? Different for everyone?
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It’s a bit of everything for me. I grew up Catholic, but in my first few years of college, I began to doubt a lot (while curiously still going to Mass every Sunday). I thought the Bible was just some book, the Church was just a man-mad institution, and Jesus was just a man.

Along with this, I really felt worse and worse, too. I described it in my journal once as though I could literally feel chains wrapped around my heart. It was weighing me down. I felt enslaved. But I just couldn’t believe, even though I really wanted to. I just didn’t make sense to me.

The first major step for me was going on a retreat. I felt a little awkward and uncomfortable at first, but slowly started enjoying it. Then, there was part of the retreat where it hit me like a ton of bricks that these people loved God and because of that, they loved me. And then I realized that God loved me. It was moving and definitely an emotional experience.

But that didn’t seal the deal. I still had my same doubts as before. But there was an opening to God now that wasn’t there before. I started hanging around with these other Catholics. They, like me, were University students. Many of them were smart, intelligent people. And yet, they still believed all this Catholic stuff. That, too, gave me pause and got me thinking. If these otherwise smart people can believe, maybe there is something I’m missing.

That, and their joy. Joy attracts, and I wanted what they had.

A few months passed and I found myself on team for the next retreat. At this point, I still couldn’t bring myself to believe. I went over to one of my new friend’s rooms and he asked if we could pray together. I said okay, and then let him do all the talking. I walked away feeling like a hypocrite, and wanting very much to believe.

I wandered over to the Catholic chapel on campus. It was night time and the place was dark except for the light shining on the tabernacle. I went up and sat on the floor before the tabernacle, not really sure what I was doing or hoping for. Then it hit me. This overwhelming sense of Presence. Even though I was the only one in the Church, I knew deep in my bones that I was not alone. Jesus was there with me. And He was right before me in the tabernacle. It wasn’t an emotional experience per se. I just became convinced and convicted that Jesus really was God, He was really there, and He really loved me.

Still, that wasn’t the end. I still walked away with all my same old questions. But, whereas before, I thought the questions were unanswerable, now I believed they had answers, I just simply hadn’t discovered them yet. Eventually, I came across Peter Kreeft’s book “Yes or No? Straight Answers to Tough Questions about Christianity.” It literally felt like Peter Kreeft had read my mind as he one by one asked and answered every single question I had in a way that made sense of everything.

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From there, I read more and more, and prayed more and more, and became more and more convinced that the Catholic worldview is the only one that truly makes sense of the world around me. In the time since, while there have certainly been trials and tribulations, nothing I have encountered has made me doubt. My certitude has only increased.

I share all this not as though this is some sort of “how to” manual for encountering God. This is how it happened for me, and it will no doubt happen differently for you. I would just encourage you to keep seeking the truth. Making some good, knowledgeable, Catholic friends is very helpful, too. And begin to pray. Worse case scenario, your wrong and you’ve wasted a little bit of time. But if God is real, it will change everything.

I’ll keep praying for you.
 
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