In a bit of a rough patch at the moment, actually for a while now. Need to strengthen my faith because at times it falters a bit. What do you all do to build your faith with God and to keep it strong? I could really use some ideas and inspiration.
How do you build your connection with God?
- Thread starter Valerie88
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L
LittleMermaid
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Hi Valerie! Welcome to CC.
I like to come to Him and just talk to Him. We can talk about anything with Jesus. You can also worship Him by listening and maybe singing the lyrics to Christian music. You can also read the Bible and devotionals too.
You can take a walk outside seeing His precious creations and invite Him to join you. He is always there for us but we have to be conscious of His presence to get the full effect of His peace and friendship.
Whether you are driving to work or washing dishes, it could be a time for you to reflect (even for just a couple of seconds) on Jesus and His promises to us.
I really recommend "Jesus Calling." I started reading it on January 1 and I get a lot out of it.
I pray to the Lord that you build a good connection with Him. I ask that you are open to His Presence and that He envelops you with His love and peace. I also pray that you continue to seek Him, continue to pray to Him, and continue to knock at His door. I ask that Jesus gives you many blessings for recognizing that you want a connection with Him.
Amen and God bless you, Sis!
I like to come to Him and just talk to Him. We can talk about anything with Jesus. You can also worship Him by listening and maybe singing the lyrics to Christian music. You can also read the Bible and devotionals too.
You can take a walk outside seeing His precious creations and invite Him to join you. He is always there for us but we have to be conscious of His presence to get the full effect of His peace and friendship.
Whether you are driving to work or washing dishes, it could be a time for you to reflect (even for just a couple of seconds) on Jesus and His promises to us.
I really recommend "Jesus Calling." I started reading it on January 1 and I get a lot out of it.
I pray to the Lord that you build a good connection with Him. I ask that you are open to His Presence and that He envelops you with His love and peace. I also pray that you continue to seek Him, continue to pray to Him, and continue to knock at His door. I ask that Jesus gives you many blessings for recognizing that you want a connection with Him.
Amen and God bless you, Sis!
Hi Valerie, I see that you are new here, so first off, welcome to CChat
I just read a quote from Missionary Elisabeth Elliot that you may find helpful. This is one of the practical ways that she dealt with some of the "rough patches" in her life:
Do you often feel like parched ground, unable to produce anything worthwhile? I do. When I am in need of refreshment, it isn't easy to think of the needs of others. But I have found that if, instead of praying for my own comfort and satisfaction, I ask the Lord to enable me to give to others, an amazing thing often happens - I find my own needs wonderfully met. Refreshment comes in ways I would never have thought of, both for others, and then, incidentally, for myself.
Also, try to develop a better/more continual sense of God's presence in your life. One thing that you can begin to do right now is to take note of the things around you that are pleasing to you, and thank Him for them (your family, your home, the Bible, or something as simple as a cool summer breeze or a pretty color perhaps). And as you grow in trust of Him who saved you and loves you so, you may even begin to thank Him for the things in your life that do not go so well, knowing that He promises us that He will cause all things, good and bad, to work together for our good .. Romans 8:28. As Pastor Charles Spurgeon once said, "I've learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages".
Finally, if you find that our common enemy is attacking you and trying to convince that you aren't worthy to be a Christian, and/or to be loved by God, or that you're not a Christian at all (which are three of his very favorite ploys), just look to the Cross to realize and remember just how much God loves you, that He sent His one and only Son here to die in your place so that He wouldn't have to live out eternity w/o you, nor you w/o Him
(Did you know that God has loved you from everlasting .. Jeremiah 31:3? That there was never a time in eternity past that He did not love you, nor will there ever be such a time now or in the future ).And as far as being worthy, don't worry, you aren't! NONE of us are, but He decided to save us anyway .. Romans 5:8-10 (and He knew exactly who and what He was getting when He did, so don't listen to the the enemy's half-truths and deceptions).
Talk to God about what you are going through, tell Him what you're feeling, ask Him to help you, and then patiently trust that He will .. Isaiah 40:31; Jeremiah 29:11.
God bless you! (Numbers 6:24-26; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
~Deut
p.s. - I've always enjoyed listening to sermons and lectures by various pastors/theologians on the radio or online to grow in the faith and be encouraged. I'll link four of my favorites for you below.
Also, if you are an Amazon Prime member, search prime videos with the word "Sproul" in (for Dr. R C Sproul), and several of his HD teaching series videos will appear, which are free to watch and I highly recommend. The God Who Speaks, a brand new documentary about the Bible, is also available to watch for free right now at Amazon Prime, and it is extremely well-done
Renewing Your Mind - Dr. R. C. Sproul
Grace to You - Dr. John MacArthur
Insight for Living - Dr. Chuck Swindoll
Gateway to Joy - Missionary/Arthur Elisabeth Elliot
.Grace to You - Dr. John MacArthur
Insight for Living - Dr. Chuck Swindoll
Gateway to Joy - Missionary/Arthur Elisabeth Elliot
The last entry in my last post above (post #3) should have been "Missionary/Author Elisabeth Elliot" 
Hi Valerie.
Great to see you here.
I think I would have to ask the question.
"Can we strengthen our faith?
I don't think we can.
But I do believe the Holy Spirit in us helps us strength our faith.
When we allow him to work in us in all circumstances then he conforms us to the image of Jesus.
So for me the focus for building faith is to focus on Jesus.
Be honest with God, like David was. Warts and all and ask for help but be open to his response of what he wants to do and not what we want him to do.
Hi again Valerie, I believe you'll find this short video (14 min) to be a great encouragement! It's an excerpt from a speech that was given to the students at Dallas Theological Seminary a few years ago by their chancellor, Pastor Chuck Swindoll.
It's all about two very important words. Enjoy
~Deut
I believe that a good place to start building your faith in God would be on your knees in prayer. Hopefully, you will find comfort, support and understanding from the members of this site. Glad to have you as part of our community. Welcome to CC.
Miss Valerie,
"who by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" and since you can relate to that verse, the ability to "relate" is proof that you are not numb to scripture,
since scripture can be effective, God's word will not go void ...
the Bible can help change the heart and the heart can be softened enough to "heed gentle rebukes"
and also
Romans 10:17 - faith comes by hearing
and this faith can lead to trust
"who by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" and since you can relate to that verse, the ability to "relate" is proof that you are not numb to scripture,
since scripture can be effective, God's word will not go void ...
the Bible can help change the heart and the heart can be softened enough to "heed gentle rebukes"
and also
Romans 10:17 - faith comes by hearing
and this faith can lead to trust
The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus only works by the Believer placing and maintain their Faith exclusively in Christ Jesus and the Finished work at Calvary's Cross (Roman 8:2). You are the "Temple of God. The Temple is built ONLY by Grace through Faith (Faith exclusively in Christ Jesus and the Finished work at Calvary's Cross). Any other type of faith is misplaced faith that God doesn't recognize. Failure to live this way will revive the sin nature and the law of sin and death will be evident by the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21).
Always remember this, that we are in Christ and in Him all the promises of God are yes and Amen. We must understand our position that we have been baptize into Christ (Romans 6:3-5).
Now that Brother Swindoll has told us what to do, it is important to know how to do the what to do he says to do, which is how do I trust God?Hi again Valerie, I believe you'll find this short video (14 min) to be a great encouragement! It's an excerpt from a speech that was given to the students at Dallas Theological Seminary a few years ago by their chancellor, Pastor Chuck Swindoll.
It's all about two very important words. Enjoy
~Deut
My Brother and Sisters that are in Christ Jesus, please understand that we are in Christ. Jesus has already done the trusting, the leaning not unto our own understanding, and acknowledging the LORD for us at the Cross of Calvary where the victory was won. Therefore we place and maintain our Faith exclusively in Christ and His Finished Work at Calvary's Cross and receive all the benefits of this resurrection life by understanding we have been planted together with Him in the likeness of His death (Rom. 6:3-5). Now, all of the promises of God are yes and Amen. The Temple of God (the Believer) can only be built by Grace through Faith in Christ and the Cross.
Pray more. If you've been praying as much as you can... then you must trust God more. Sorry for whatever you are going through. God bless you.
Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." - Romans 10:13, Acts 2:21
Sister Valerie88,what has worked very well for me,as all have encounted your very same problem. Lesson 1 Praise him through your feeling and emotion!!( Psalm 100:1-5) ( Acts 16:20-26) verse 26 and suddenly!!! Lesson 2 Thank him for all the wonderful things you can remember the Lord has done for you in the past as well as any positive memory you have!!( Phil 4:7-9) ( 1 Thess 5:18) Do these two lessons and you will see your and suddenly as I have many many times!! Blessing sis!
A mustard seed sized faith can move spiritual mountains <-- you don't doubt this right?
Especially,
Since it's about spiritual things, and "the eye is the lamp of the body"
Especially,
Since it's about spiritual things, and "the eye is the lamp of the body"
Here's a tip, even if you don't feel like giving thanks, at least you can always focus on Phil 4:8
Praiseworthy (Phil 4:8)
And the brilliance of Phil 4:8 to help you is also praiseworthy as well
To listen to God, I read the bible. To talk to God, I pray. This is relationship.
I too went through a rough patch, it's part of being a Christian so go through trials. It's not so much what we learn but how we apply it to our lives.
As with all relationships our relationship with God takes time and commitment. I feel as so i'm saying this often lately but it's something that i've been applying more so lately and it's alone time with God. Not just alone time where our mind wanders but specifically with God, to be still and hear what it is He has to say. Many times people go to the Father in prayer and speak, speak and speak but that's not relationship, relationship requires communication and communication is two way, i would even say in the case of a Christian with God, He should be the one speaking more than us.
When i read you mention that your faith falters, i was reminded of Rom 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Reading, listening and fellowshipping with others about the word will help your faith.
To keep it strong...being a doer. Sometimes it takes sacrifice but in the end it's all worth it to gain more of Him
I will pray for you. God bless you.
As with all relationships our relationship with God takes time and commitment. I feel as so i'm saying this often lately but it's something that i've been applying more so lately and it's alone time with God. Not just alone time where our mind wanders but specifically with God, to be still and hear what it is He has to say. Many times people go to the Father in prayer and speak, speak and speak but that's not relationship, relationship requires communication and communication is two way, i would even say in the case of a Christian with God, He should be the one speaking more than us.
When i read you mention that your faith falters, i was reminded of Rom 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Reading, listening and fellowshipping with others about the word will help your faith.
To keep it strong...being a doer. Sometimes it takes sacrifice but in the end it's all worth it to gain more of Him
I will pray for you. God bless you.
In my opinion what you do is exactly what you are doing is seeking what to do to draw closer! So good for you!!! Then from there its about what personally sparks passion to lean in closer. So what are you areas of passion amd inspirations? What excites you about this wold, life, people and God? Then do that more and more. With church, community, fellowship, serving along side passionate people, read the bible daily, even just a few verses. Start a devotional that is around your current life possition, listen to music, and time in prayer. So start with setting up even 15 min a day thats you and God time, and build on that. That might sound like a lot but not all a once and just options of things that help us lean in more.