I’m having a hard time. I struggle with OCD, and it interferes with my relationship with God. It’s made my relationship with God feel exhausting. I pray, read my bible, and try to worship, but even when I do all that, I don’t hear or feel anything. There were a few times I’ve felt peace, but I’m not sure if that was God. I feel like I’m not doing enough or that I may not have enough faith, and that’s why I’ve never felt God’s presence the way others do. I can’t even tell if I’m doing anything right because I hear nothing from him, not even a yes or no. I’m trying so hard to just have faith and believe. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong and why my relationship with God has always been silent. My question is, how do you feel God’s presence or know I’m doing the right thing?
I sure understand your question. It is not uncommon. I can’t make God behave differently than He does, but I can offer some ideas that may help you look at your problem differently; see your own situation in new light.
We speak of being in a personal relationship with God, and we are right to do so. We naturally think that personal relationship should look and feel similar to other personal relationships that we have known. When it is quite different, we naturally assume we are doing something wrong. But what if your relationship with God was more like (not exactly like) your relationship with your own blood. You know you have blood, you know it is coursing through your veins and arteries, you know it is carrying life to every cell of your body, and cleaning up the waste that each cell makes. You don’t feel it, you don’t have pleasant conversations with it, you may speak to your blood, but it will never answer you in any way you can hear. You probably live much of every day without thinking of it, but never do you reject it, or disrespect it. When you are reminded of it, you do not lack full assurance that your blood will never fail to do what it is supposed to do; it will never fail to maintain your life, moment by moment, day by day, year after year. It is part of you, and you are part of it.
In some ways, your relationship with God is similar. He doesn’t present himself to your vision, you don’t taste Him. or hear Him, you can’t smell Him, or even feel Him touching your fingers. But if you sit real still, and focus on His presence, open your heart, pray for His love and compassion, you will know for sure He is in you, closer to you than your own blood. If you are “In Christ Jesus”, Christ Jesus is IN you. You are sealed with The Holy Spirit of God, and that seal cannot be removed. That seal is not understood by your five senses, or by your intellectual imagination, but that Holy Spirit is more real and more near than anything else you can perceive.
Trust it. Believe it. It is the truth.
KP
I can only answer that from my own perspective. I don’t feel God’s presence all the time. I know He is present because of His word. His word tells me that Jesus is present with us and loves us. I may not feel His love for me and I may not know His presence with me, but my feelings on that matter are not important. It would be nice, but its not indictive to the truth. I think there’s a problem when we compare ourselves to other Christians. We are all very different and God who never changes, has a relationship with each of us that can also be different. Comparing just causes us to have doubts.
You either have faith or you don’t, and I think you do have faith. What is enough faith? It either exits or it doesn’t. Granted, faith is also a gift from the Holy Spirit, but that’s a different topic. We all don’t have the same gift. The Holy Spirit chooses as He is able.
I would suggest that you don’t give too much credence to your emotions. Emotions are neither right or wrong and they aren’t the evidence of anything truthful. They’re just a response.
It takes faith to believe and trust in God when He seems silent. Every Christian I know has experienced this silence. I would keep on doing what you’re doing and I’ll pray right now that God gives you a sense of His presence with you.
Excellent questions here @Willow
Do me a favor and do a word study on “know-epignosis” and let me know when you come upon this…
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you will know with settled and absolute knowledge that you already have eternal life.”
This rendering captures the force of the Greek verb εἰδῆτε eidēte, perfect active subjunctive, which expresses confident, established knowledge rather than hopeful uncertainty, emphasizing assurance rooted in Christ rather than fluctuating feeling or performance.
Rom_15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.
1Co_10:13 No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word–He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].
2Co_1:6 But if we are troubled and distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted and encouraged, it is for your comfort, which works [in you] when you patiently endure the same sufferings which we experience.
2Co_13:5 Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?
Gal_4:9 Now, however, since you have come to know [the true] God [through personal experience], or rather to be known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to the weak and worthless elemental principles [of religions and philosophies], to which you want to be enslaved all over again?
Eph_3:19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
Eph_5:10 trying to learn [by experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [and letting your lifestyles be examples of what is most acceptable to Him–your behavior expressing gratitude to God for your salvation].
Php_3:10 And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did];
1Th_3:4 For even when we were with you, we warned you plainly in advance that we were going to experience persecution; and so, as you know, it has come to pass.
Heb_2:9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while [by taking on the limitations of humanity], crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering of death, so that by the grace of God [extended to sinners] He might experience death for [the sins of] everyone.
Heb_2:10 For it was fitting for God [that is, an act worthy of His divine nature] that He, for whose sake are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the author and founder of their salvation perfect through suffering [bringing to maturity the human experience necessary for Him to be perfectly equipped for His office as High Priest].
Heb_2:17 Therefore, it was essential that He had to be made like His brothers (mankind) in every respect, so that He might [by experience] become a merciful and faithful High Priest in things related to God, to make atonement (propitiation) for the people’s sins [thereby wiping away the sin, satisfying divine justice, and providing a way of reconciliation between God and mankind].
Heb_4:11 Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience [as those who died in the wilderness].
Heb_8:11 "AND IT WILL NOT BE [necessary] FOR EACH ONE TO TEACH HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, OR EACH ONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW [by experience, have knowledge of] THE LORD,’ FOR ALL WILL KNOW [Me by experience and have knowledge of] ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.
Jas_1:3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].
1Pe_5:5 Likewise, you younger men [of lesser rank and experience], be subject to your elders [seek their counsel]; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another [tie on the servant’s apron], for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD [the disdainful, the presumptuous, and He defeats them], BUT HE GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. [Pro_3:34]
1Jn_2:3 And this is how we know [daily, by experience] that we have come to know Him [to understand Him and be more deeply acquainted with Him]: if we habitually keep [focused on His precepts and obey] His commandments (teachings).
This has nothing to do with feelings or emotionalism brother.
J.
Praise the Lord and good morning, I am praying for you that you’re not be hard on yourself and to hear God‘s voice. All you have to do is go to his word whatever or whenever you are feeling God doesn’t give you a yes or no answer go to his word, he talks with us. He directs our path like he said he would and he is a God that will never leave us, nor forsake us but first we must believe that he is who he says he is you have power. He gives us knowledge direction and understanding if we just study his word he speaks to us from his word the Bible you have power. He gives us knowledge direction and understanding if we just study his word. He lets us know that he hears us he guide us. He loves us and his word will never come back void. You are hearing from God, but you’re not listening. He even tells us no sometimes and it’s all for how good because God says, in the name of Jesus, all things work together for the good for those that love him and no matter what he knows your heart so he’s right there with you if you just listen and stop worrying about how you feel. We all are emotional creatures. Focus on the word of God be a good courage know that he is with you. I pray God in the name of Jesus will bless you. I pray that something has been said to you to let you know God is answering your prayers in Jesus name amen. I have a question and u believe you do. Do you believe in God in the name of Jesus? Yes. Then ask Gid to help you in this name.
God bless
Yvette
There is a book called, “The Practice of the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence. He lived several hundred years ago and his doctrine may not be very accurate, but he does show a deep faith. The book should be free and downloadable form the Internet.
Two simple points.
- Christianity is not about how one feels, or about how others boast, but about the realiity that Jesus died and rose again that you and I might know God.
In the brutal reality of that forget what you feel and concentrate on what is real, on what scripture or biblical sermons teach you.
2 check out what is taught about OCD at this site:-
talk to your pastor and friends about what it says so they can help you.