I lost my faith recently, is there any way I can restore it?

Question

I lost my faith recently, is there any way i can restore it?

Perhaps I should of rephrased my question. It seems when I was younger I always used to make an active effort to try to talk to God and for him to be a part of life.
Recently (around the age of 19 I’m 25 now) I feel that I have lost my faith.
Has anyone out there experienced this before, and if so, what did you do to help restore your faith?

Answer 1

What did you lose your faith over?

There may be some questions that you need to resolve. Or some hurt that needs to be healed. Or it could just be that your relationship with God needs to be restored.

I think the best way to do that is to remind yourself how much He loves you and what He has blessed you with.

I fell away when I was about your age. My problem was that my parents used religion as a means of guilting me into whatever they wanted me to do. As an adult, I was sick of the guilt, and I had no relationship with God.

I had to start by healing the wounds others inflicted on me in the name of religion and search out Who God says He is, rather than who others told me He was.

If you can find a good Christian counselor, that may be enormously helpful. I also really enjoyed, "Boundaries" by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. It helped me understand so much about what I was and was not responsible for in my relationship with God and others.

God promises that if we seek Him, we will find Him.

May God bless you in your search for Him.

Answer 2

Yes, I ran into the same problem, about the same age as you. I have always known that I believed in God, but everything else was up in the air. What was the right way to live, to worship, to be?

I was raised Catholic and tried attending various churches and studied other christian religions. Some of the fundamentalist christians really scared the bejesus out of me, and I knew that wasnt' for me.

I have attended the Catholic Church on and off for many years, mostly due to the familiarity of it, even though I vehemently disagree with many of the ridiculous dogma and man-made rules.

Last fall, a dear friend of my husband gave me a book which set me off on a renewed spirtual journey, which has changed my whole outlook on life. I feel liberated and free from fear of both life and death.

I consequently read all the books written by that author, and have read many books by "new age" spiritual teachers/authors. See sources below.

I had never before given much credence to the whole "new age" spirituality, but I feel, as the saying goes, that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear, and it just so happened I was ready last fall.

I hope that some of these are of help for you.

Answer 3

Remember that God has not moved... you have. I don't want so sound as though I'm condemning you or judging you. I'm not. I'm just trying to say that all you have to do really is just pray to Him. Tell Him that you want to return to Him and restore your relationship with Him. Read the Word. Acts, Hebrews, James, any of the Gospels, they're all good ones.

Remember, also, that He has been there the whole time and has protected you even when you had lost your faith.

Maybe it would help if you found a church that you like and asked for guidance and prayer there and they could help you. You don't really need it, though, all you need is to ask God back into your life, but many times it helps for us to seek the aid of others.

Ok, so I'm being a little long-winded and rambling, but my point is, your answer is simple. Pray! Pray by yourself, pray with others, whatever works! He'll listen!

God Bless, and best of luck. I'll be praying for you.

Answer 4

Honestly , God is the universal energy that runs through us all - it's what makes us walk and talk. You don't need to talk to it all the time for it to be an active presence in your life.

It is easy to focus on other stuff in our lives - that is what we are here for, to live our lives. We come here with a purpose, something to learn that can only be learned here on Earth. When we are done, we go back to god - so to spend our lives here dwelling upon god does not seem like the best use of our time.

As we grow our perception of god changes too, just as outgrow the concept of Santa. Somehow your statements make me think you haven't lost your faith - but your faith is changing and you don't need to spend so much time focused on it.

If you really feel soul sick, as if you have lost your way or your faith, the best thing for it is meditation. To clear and quiet your mind allows for you to tap into the Universal Energy and to hear God. You can also visualize (as vividly as you can) your own self being happy and surrounded in the glow of your faith and god's love. After a few days of doing this - for 5 mins at a time 1 or more times a day - you will begin to feel better.

Remember that you are the captain of your own personal journey - you can change your mind and your thoughts and thereby change your existence.

Peace!

Answer 5

I have run into people who say they are taking a "break" from church or spirituality to do what they want to do. I even struggle with that once in a while. I think if everyone is always doing their own thing, they never make time for God. So maybe you can consider taking time and dedicating it to 1) Learning about God through scripture study, 2) Talking to God through prayer, 3) Serving God by keeping His commandments and helping those around you. For a while I also looked at religious art and collected Animated Scriptures movies. "Ben Hur" is a great movie to rediscover what you feel about faith (if you are Christian). Have a happy day!

Answer 6

This has happened to me twice. Both as a result of depression. Pray that your faith will be restored and it will be. If there is a particular holy book that you have, read it at least once a day. Try to see the good things in this world. I know there is so much evil and waste, but find those things that are meaningful and beautiful to you. Go somewhere that inspires you, perhaps a place of natural beauty. Be thankful.

Answer 7

In high school I hit a real rough spot. My best friend had a terrible car accident. I prayed so hard for her to live but she died the next day while I was sitting beside her in the hospital. I lost my faith completely. I thought "I prayed so hard for her to live. If there was a God, he would have answered". It took me until this year to actually start going to church again and believing again. I realized that I prayed for what I wanted, not for what God wanted. It all just kind of hit me one day that the world is so complicated, how could it have been created without a God? Good luck on finding your faith again.

Answer 8

It took me a long time to restore my faith, Strayed away from the church for several years also. But then, when I finally went back, I realized even though I strayed I was welcomed back with open arms. People are just happy to see you alive and doing well. I actually did an exploration of different religions and when I felt comfortable with peace in my heart I knew I found what I had been looking for.

Answer 9

I can understand, been through the same thing myself. The analogy of a fire has often been used to describe this very issue. Whne you first light a fire on pieces of tinder and leaves, it burns quick, bright, and hot. Eventually it burns down and takes more work to renew that same intensity. Just make a point to work on your relationship with God. Make a point to block out time to read your Bible and to pray every day. You will feel a closer relationship again, it just takes time and a little more work than you may have thought. Our relationship with God is by no means a passive one. It requires us to be actively involved. Continually striving to be closer to Him. Once I realized that truth, I returned to the faith that I had before, and even greater. It is a wonderful feeling to be back in the will of God, and it is well worth the work you put into it.

Answer 10

Its a great first step to be even considering restoring your faith. So you know that with outa shadow of a doubt that when you die you will go to heaven? If so you just need to ask for God's forgivenss and tell him exactly what you want. There is no right or wrong way to speak to Jesus. He just wants you to! Let Him know what is on your heart. It is a good idea to get a Bible in a translation that is easy for you to read and read it everyday. Music is a big thing for me. Find some worship music and listen to it and sing it to Jesus.

To the question I asked..if you aren't sure you are going to heaven and a child of God...this needs to be taken care of for you to have a relationship. If you need more advice or prayer or anything I will be glad to help.. [e-mail]

Answer 11

Go get yourself the book "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris. It's a very interesting book that takes a very close look at belief and faith. It then offers alternative methods at the end for spiritual growth that do not require belief in anything ridiculous. It will most likely lead you to something better and new.

I'm now studying Buddhism as a result.