how can i come back into a relationship with God?

Question

for the past year i have had a declining relationship with God. I grew up in the church and have never really felt this way, for about a year i was on a spiritual high. But now i have lost that and i feel ashamed even to pray to God and ask for his help to come backc to him.

please help me if you have had experience with this.

Answer 1

noooooooooooooooooo. don't go

Answer 2

One important thing to remember is that being joined to God through Christ is not a matter of emotions. Emotions are good, don't get me wrong, but Christianity is not about emotions, it's about abundant and evelasting life.

That being said, the spiritual life is nourished by a regular giving of yourself over to God. This happens very powerfully through the liturgical life of the Church, where the faith is celebrated in the community before God. I would encourage you to try to take active part in your church's worship. But be aware that worship does not always mean happy and good feelings.

Also, frequent personal prayer is essential, I think. I'm no spiritual master, but I notice that when I am more disciplined about my prayer, I tend to feel a lot closer to God. Don't worry if you feel like you're just going through the motions at first. Prayer is a habit to be learned, and does not always seem really exciting really immediately. This is why it's important to keep a regular routine of prayer. Since the earliest centuries, one way that Christians have done this is to pray what's called the Divine Office, which consists of psalms and biblical readings organized throughout the day to sanctify the hours of our lives by contact with God's Word and grace. I really recommend this.

Whatever you do, there is no need to feel ashamed to approach God. God has already approached you through the Cross and Resurrection, and he will joyfully welcome you home as did the father of the prodigal son. Christ died for you to be able to return to the Father and be filled with life.

God bless.

Answer 3

Jesus calls Satan 'the father of all lies' and oh how he's lying to you just now. You are a child of God, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and you haven't really gone away from the Lord and He certainly has not left you. He's just waiting for you to open up the lines of communication again. Ask The Holy Spirit to help you to pray and ask for spiritual protection against all the lies of the enemy. Remember the story of the prodigal son. We don't always need to be on a spiritual high and the Lord is with us even in the valleys. You have nothing to be ashamed about, most Christians backslide from time to time including me but God is faithful and will not let you go. If it helps you, re-commit yourself to Him in prayer. God bless.

Answer 4

there is no way to get an answer to this. faith is not set down in stone (i know the bible is there but it has been debated over the centuries, there is no right or wrong way to take it) I think that if you want a relationship with christ then you need to look into yourself and find out exactley why you stopped being close to him in the first place. I know that you may not see the reason but there is always a reason (i am busy, my realtionships have been going downhill, i feel betrayed by a person or by God himself). You must never be ashamed of your questioning faith, the questions are what make us stronger. I am/ have been going through the same thing and i didn't know why until i realized that i was angrey at myself and at god for what happened to me in my childhood. that was the first step in my coming back to god. i realized that i was ashamed of myself and i was ashamed to talk to god, but then one day i was listening to this song one day by a band called Relient K and they say "and when the doors were closed i heard no i told you so's, you said the words i knew you knew, oh God oh God i needed you, all of this time i needed you" and i realized what they met. No matter how far away from God you get he will always be right there for you. Even if you don't pray to him he will hear your need to pray and listen even if you arn't talking. He is always there for you, and this is somehting that it takes a really hard time to accept. But no matter how guilty, ashamed, or broken you feel in his eyes you are still a whole child, one that will always be in his heart.

Answer 5

The awesome thing about God is, he is always right there! All you have to do is turn around and say "OK, God. I've been distant for a while. I've sinned, and I feel bad. I want to get closer to you. Will you help me?" and guess what? He's already there!!!

Imagine if you had a dog that you loved, but he was kind of a bad dog. He ruined your favorite shoes, and peed on the rug, and fought with other dogs. You might be really angry with him, and hit him and yell at him. He might run away. But if he came back, wouldn't you welcome him with open arms? It's the same thing with God. We are all His children. We may stray, and He might not be too happy with us, but if we ask for forgiveness and tell Him to please come back into our lives, He will not let us down.

Even when God feels far away, sometimes that is His way of letting us loose for a while to figure things out and then come back and hopefully the relationship is even stronger.

Things that help me feel closer to God are listening to Christian rock music, reading the Daily Bread online, and going to church.

Remember, you are His child! He loves you no matter what!

Answer 6

Our spiritual lives are sometimes very rich and sometimes very dry and sparse. Those are the desert experiences. The time in the desert, feeling isolated and alone, help form us for the next level of spirituality.

One cannot know the spiritual high without knowing the valleys. That's how it is. All things are paired.

Go and read the story of the prodigal son. When you come home, there is great rejoicing. There is more rejoicing in heaven over one sheep that was lost than all who remained there the whole time.

It's fine. Stop beating yourself up and let God put rings on your fingers, shoes on your feet, and kill that fatted calf for one heck of a party.

Answer 7

This is what Jesus said happens when you go back to God:

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. " (Luke 15:20)

However, of you say that you've been on a 'spiritual high', be careful. Walking with God doesn't mean you'll always be on a high. It's based on faith, not feelings, so you won't always feel the same. Even if your feelings are low, don't think it means that God has deserted you.

Answer 8

Yes I did many years ago.

Just take one small step of faith back to Him. He is waiting with open arms - He loves you and has a plan and purpose for your life.

Ask Him to forgive you for the wrongs, and from straying from Him, tell Him - as it is - God is real, and He longs us to be real with Him. Don't waste anymore time, but don't think that you have to be on a 'high' all the time. Feelings can be fickle.
Seek Jesus, not 'highs'. Tell Him you want to know Him intimately, read God's Word and meditate on a few verses each day. Carry a verse around in your pocket and look at it throughout the day, this way you will cultivate a relationship with the Lord Jesus. God bless you - your welcome to email me direct if you wish further help.

Answer 9

First of all, I rebuke the lie that is being told you about the shame you feel praying to God, in the name of Jesus. That is the enemy, satan, trying to keep you away from God. There is no where you can find yourself that God will not be right there for you to turn and come back. Remember we come to the Father through the son. All you need do is ask God for forgivness in the name of Jesus Christ.

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God". Find a good bible teaching church. Fellowship with other believers, get into a bible study. The more of the things of God you take into yourself, and surround yourself with, the less area satan will have to work with. Remember....it is up to us to keep our relationship with the Lord. He is always there for you, He loves you. Just as a relationship with a person takes effort, a relationship with God takes effort on our part. Staying in His word, and in prayer, is a large part of building your faith. May God guide you and bless you.

Answer 10

Every Christian has this crisis at least once.

Please believe me, you will be stronger for it.

Sometimes God moves away from us to help us to feel the need to come closer to Him. It's like when a baby is learning to walk, the parents move away just a little to give the baby a chance to go farther. God is the perfect parent.

Ask Him to forgive you for whatever you have done wrong, promise to do better, and you will find that you feel that spiritual high again. You will be glad you did.

I have been there.

God bless you.

Answer 11

Sometimes we find ourselves at a place were it feels as though God isn't as close anymore or that we are not as close to Him as we use to be. I find this a new stage or growth God lets us go through to teach us new things in new situations. If we stayed the same we would never grow.
God hasn't left you,He only tests us so we will see what we are made of. He already knows! So take an inventory of your life in Him and see were perhaps you really are. Seems like you still have a heart after Him, or you wouldn't be asking this ?. We go from glory to glory, continuously growing in Him even if it doesn't feel like it. We come to a place in our life in Christ were we can't go by feelings anymore but by what we know to be true. I know, that I know, that I know,my Redeemer lives.
Repent God knows your heart, Hes' been waiting on you.
I to have been in church all my life. It's our relationship with Him thats most important. I understand.<><