'Trust' as a cover for lack of faith

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dove
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Dove

Guest
Hi all, I have a question.

How likely is it that we often pray for something, knowing with complete confidence that God ‘can’ do it, but safeguarding our hopes by trusting in God’s goodness and wisdom even if He says ‘no’, because we don’t really believe He’ll do as we ask?

It’s not a lack of faith in His power…it’s a lack of faith that He would.

I am grief stricken at my unbelief.
Comments?
 
Well, we can’t pretend to know with utter certainty what God’s will for us is in very single circumstance. Even with something as seemingly obvious as illness, we can’t be certain that God prefers us to suffer and offer it up as opposed to curing us quickly.

Remember, even in Gethsemane Christ began by praying ‘IF it be possible …’ and ‘nonetheless, not my will but yours’. So I don’t think it’s wrong at all for us to realise that our will may not be perfectly conformed to God’s.
 
The few people I know who are deep in their faith have stopped offering suggestions to God for the most part and have given their life to the phrase, “Not mine, but Your will be done.” I do not think there is anything wrong with this. In fact, I think that this is what true faith leads to.
 
Dove said:
Hi all, I have a question.

How likely is it that we often pray for something, knowing with complete confidence that God ‘can’ do it, but safeguarding our hopes by trusting in God’s goodness and wisdom even if He says ‘no’, because we don’t really believe He’ll do as we ask?

It’s not a lack of faith in His power…it’s a lack of faith that He would.

I am grief stricken at my unbelief.
Comments?
Click to expand...
What a great question on the feast day of St. Thomas (Doubting Thomas)!

One of the things that we have power over is our faith. We can confidently approach our Lord and pray for matters that are close to our hearts, knowing that He sees our queries before we even ask them. Does allowing ourselves to put our trust totally in Him and allowing His Will to be done act as a “buffer” to guard our hearts from disappointment? In my view, no. If anything, allowing ourselves to trust God gives testament to the strength of our faith. I can also see how that trust can be misconstrued into some kind of protection, but really, does that negate one’s belief? I really don’t think so.

St. Thomas wanted to believe in the risen Lord. The boy’s father in Mark 9 asked the Lord to “help me in my unbelief.” Their outward actions in approaching the Lord reveals the inner actions of a faith that is strong.

Be not afraid of the will of the Lord! God Bless!
 
God bless you,** Tonks**. Thank you so much for your reply, and for all the other replies as well!

I had no idea it was the Feast Day of St. Thomas. Perhaps the Lord wanted me to have a taste of what he went thru? 😉 My constant prayer today was “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” I do trust in His goodness and that His answer will be what is best for us, but it was very disconcerting to think maybe that trust was being used as a buffer of protection. During the height of my doubts about God working miracles, I came across the recent news article about the young man waking from a coma after the order had been given to pull the plug. It was a confirmation that God still works miracles. My hope is renewed, but I leave it in God’s hands. This whole experience has been for my good, with credit going to the Holy Spirit for your replies.
I’m new to posting in these forums, so please forgive comments to all the posts so far in this one post. I’m not aware of how to reply to the individual posts.

Lily, your reference to the suffering of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane brought comfort. Do you think Jesus knew the answer was to be ‘No, the cup shall not pass’? Maybe it wasn’t a lack of faith on my part…maybe my soul heard the answer He gave? Thank you for reminding me His mental anguish…I had my share of that today.

Kevin, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”, was my initial prayer along with the supplication. This is what prompted the initial post.

Hellisreal, I apologize for the wording. I didn’t mean to be confusing, but you did rather well in understanding my intention.👍 Yes, I did pray asking God to do what I asked of Him. Aren’t all supplications made with the intent of asking God for something?

Thank you all for helping to restore my peace.
 
Dove said:
God bless you,** Tonks**. Thank you so much for your reply, and for all the other replies as well!

I had no idea it was the Feast Day of St. Thomas. Perhaps the Lord wanted me to have a taste of what he went thru? 😉 My constant prayer today was “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” I do trust in His goodness and that His answer will be what is best for us, but it was very disconcerting to think maybe that trust was being used as a buffer of protection. During the height of my doubts about God working miracles, I came across the recent news article about the young man waking from a coma after the order had been given to pull the plug. It was a confirmation that God still works miracles. My hope is renewed, but I leave it in God’s hands. This whole experience has been for my good, with credit going to the Holy Spirit for your replies.
I’m new to posting in these forums, so please forgive comments to all the posts so far in this one post. I’m not aware of how to reply to the individual posts.

Lily, your reference to the suffering of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane brought comfort. Do you think Jesus knew the answer was to be ‘No, the cup shall not pass’? Maybe it wasn’t a lack of faith on my part…maybe my soul heard the answer He gave? Thank you for reminding me His mental anguish…I had my share of that today.

Kevin, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”, was my initial prayer along with the supplication. This is what prompted the initial post.

Hellisreal, I apologize for the wording. I didn’t mean to be confusing, but you did rather well in understanding my intention.👍 Yes, I did pray asking God to do what I asked of Him. Aren’t all supplications made with the intent of asking God for something?

Thank you all for helping to restore my peace.
Click to expand...
It is not what your God can do for you, but what it is what you can do (and) accept- be at peace & Love with Him- then at some point- try to understand that- God’s will…is for good. Yours included.

God the Father. Not Your “Personal”-God, but God Almighty. Maker of Heaven and Earth. Some disagree.
He knows what is best for you, does care for you and all He does is good.

Read some of the beautiful prayers of old, and in all of them you will see Mary’s words—

Let it be …YOUR WILL…

Pray to Holy Mary, Most Glorious and ever Virgin, Mary , Theotokos
She knows about accepting God’s will, and conforming to it.👍
 
Good morning, Hellisreal.

I am curious to know why you have the impression that this topic pertains to a lack of faith in God’s goodness on my part? I have no idea what I could have said to lead you in that direction.:confused:

I stated I have complete confidence in His power, Trust in His wisdom and goodness to do what is right, and a questioning of my faith in that He **would answer ‘yes’ **to my supplication. I know God says ‘no’, and most likely…this is one of those times. How do you construe that to mean I doubt God’s goodness?
 
Dove said:
Good morning, Hellisreal.

I am curious to know why you have the impression that this topic pertains to a lack of faith in God’s goodness on my part? I have no idea what I could have said to lead you in that direction.:confused:

I stated I have complete confidence in His power, Trust in His wisdom and goodness to do what is right, and a questioning of my faith in that He **would answer ‘yes’ **to my supplication. I know God says ‘no’, and most likely…this is one of those times. How do you construe that to mean I doubt God’s goodness?
Click to expand...
🤷

I did not say you did. Do you?
 
Faith is only of merit when the thing one has faith in is meritable.

Believing God will give us what we ask for? Not neccessarily true or of merit…unless what we ask for is God’s will.

I trust the Divine, to fulfill the Divine will. I don’t bother asking for “stuff”. Partly, because from a life of experience, I know it won’t happen, and partly because I know, from a life of experience, I don’t know what I need. So…I trust, having faith the Divine knows what it is upto…and that’s that.

I spend a lot less time being dissappointed, and wringing my hands over why God doesn’t do what I want, etc. etc. boo hoo hoo.And alot more time taking care of the things I have and meeting the challenges at hand.

In high school, we had a nun tell us, In Jan, to thank God for the hunky prom date he was preparing for us. Since God had already been thanked, we could be confidant He would provide…hmmm…was that truly faith? or an attempt to manipulate the Divine. I didn’t go to prom that year. But I learned a valuable lesson. Trust! Not in a Holy Vending Machine, but in a truly powerful Divine that has control over the entire universe.
 
I think it’s part of maturing in our prayer life. It’s very hard to accept that the often very good things we desire may not be in God’s will. It can be crushing when those prayers seem to be ignored.

For example, we pray for the conversion of family members or for a cure for a very good person. Obviously, these are good things that seem to be God’s Will. Or, we have a habitually sin we genuinely hate and want to stop–we pray earnestly to have this temptation lifted. It takes time to learn that God has his perfect timetable.

It really helps to read the lives of the saints for help in accepting this. I remember reading once that St. Pio (Padre Pio) had a nephew who was lame. One day, someone asked him why God didn’t cure his nephew. Padre Pio said that the disability was necessary for the nephew’s salvation. That helped me to understand a little that we can’t see the purpose of some sufferings–that a physical cure could be bad for a person’s soul. Or, that perhaps that suffering brings souls to God. In that instance it is a gift.

Another helpful thing is looking back on “unanswered” prayers and seeing how God worked through that situation. Once when my dh was out of work, I prayed earnestly for a new job. Instead, he spent several months unemployed to our great anxiety. Now, I can see how wonderful that time was. We had so much time together as a family–time well needed after a few difficult years in our marriage. We received a lot of anonymous financial help that humbled us and showed us God’s mercy. It was actually a great gift.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top