Please pray for me.

[Adammi]

Hi guys, the past few weeks have been a greatly intensified time of doubting my faith (be it Catholic, Orthodox, Christian, etc.). A time that seems to be a compilation of faith struggles I've experience for several years now. Please, I ask for your prayers and any words of encouragement you may have to offer.
Thanks so much.

[icxn]

Quote from the book "Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain:"

Father Paisios told me an incident from his childhood years:
“When I was a child and my soul was still pure, I loved Christ very much. I used to walk in the woods carrying a cross in my hands, chanting and praying and wishing to become a monk.

My parents told me that I should first grow up and then leave to go to the monastery. One day, as I was taking my usual walk in the woods, I met a fellow villager. When he saw me carrying the cross, he asked me:
- What is this?
- The Cross of our Christ, I replied.
Since he did not have any positive thoughts in his mind, he said to me:
- Arsenios, you are silly. You don’t mean to say that you believe in God. He does not exist. These religious stories are made up by some priests. We have evolved from the monkey. Christ was simply a man like all of us.

When he finished, he got up and left. His twisted thoughts filled my innocent soul with black heavy clouds. Being alone in the woods, I began to think that maybe God does not exist. As I was feeling confused, desperate and extremely sad, I asked Christ to give me an indication of His existence, so I could believe in Him. But He did not respond.

Feeling exhausted, I lay on the ground to rest. Suddenly, a positive thought, full of responsive gratefulness, entered my innocent soul:
- Hold on for a second! Wasn’t Christ the kindest man ever on earth? No one has ever found anything evil in Him. So, whether He is God or not, I don’t care. Based on the fact that He is the kindest man on earth and I haven’t known anyone better, I will try to become like Him and absolutely obey everything the Gospel says. I will even give my life for Him, if needed, since He is so kind.

All my thoughts of disbelief disappeared and my soul was filled with immense joy. The power of my grateful thought dissolved all the ambiguous ones. When I started believing in Christ and decided to love Him as much as I could, solely out of responsive gratefulness, I experienced a miracle which firmly sealed my grateful thought. Then, I thought: I do not care any more if someone tells me that God does not exist!”

As the story of the Elder regarding this grateful thought did not completely satisfy me, I asked him with a certain curiosity to tell me about the miracle he experienced in the woods.

Father Paisios was found in a difficult situation and replied that he could not tell me about it. This way, he indicated that I, too, should not look for miracles, but rather trust my feeling of responsive gratefulness, as it is the key which opens the door to every good.

Later on, Father Paisios told me that he had seen the Lord.

[HandmaidenOfGod]

Lord have mercy :crosseo:

[MariaRegina]

If you are struggling in the faith, then please don't visit the General Theology or General Apologetics forums, as those forums can cause doubts.

You are a teen ager and during this time of hormonal and brain cell changes, you will be confused. It is expected.

Please take time to enjoy nature because God's glory is revealed in nature. Read the bible, pray, and don't stress out. Be kind to yourself, get plenty of rest, exercise, and proper nutrition.

Know that I will be praying for you too.

Lovingly in Christ,
Elizabeth

[gzt]

One of the most important things to do in such times is to persevere in your obedience to God whether or not you're certain of things. Don't let doubt be an excuse for sin or sin lead to doubt.

[Shubunkin]

I will be praying for you. :crosseo:

[ClementofRome]

Lord have mercy on your servant, Adam.

!!!

[MariaRegina]

Forgot to say

Listen to chant. It has been found to be very soothing to the spirit.

[InnerPhyre]

When I started to move away from Roman Catholicism, I experienced extraordinary doubts that I had never experienced before in my life. It seemed like everything started to collapse around me. I started to look into things like Islam, and for a time, really and truly doubted that God ever even existed. After a year in the Orthodox Church, I look back on that time now and I realize that it was really not a bad thing and that it was necessary for me to decide how deep my committment to God was going to go. The rough time, painful though it was, was a blessing for me, and has made me ever more grateful to God for bringing me through it. Don't be afraid. Just be at peace and wait on the Lord.

[ClementofRome]

When I started to move away from Roman Catholicism, I experienced extraordinary doubts that I had never experienced before in my life. It seemed like everything started to collapse around me. I started to look into things like Islam, and for a time, really and truly doubted that God ever even existed. After a year in the Orthodox Church, I look back on that time now and I realize that it was really not a bad thing and that it was necessary for me to decide how deep my committment to God was going to go. The rough time, painful though it was, was a blessing for me, and has made me ever more grateful to God for bringing me through it. Don't be afraid. Just be at peace and wait on the Lord.

Brilliant! :thumbsup:

[MariaRegina]

InnerPhyre, I am so glad you are back with us to share your experiences.

I too went through a horrible crisis of faith upon leaving Catholicism to find myself in love with Christ and His Holy Church again.

[Adammi]

Thank you all, you have helped me greatly.

[DonVA]

Do you think God would ever lose faith in you?

Don't make the mistake I made, and wander too far away from Him. Looking back, I can't believe He stood by me when I was looking everywhere else for some kind of truth. I had it all along and never realized it. I love the advice you've been given here. I'd accept it, and use it to grow closer to The Lord. When I look at the time I wasted...

My prayers :crosseo: