We have heard your heart in this request and we want to respond with truth and compassion because what you have expressed reveals deep hurt and disappointment, yet it also turns away from the very source of healing. You have said that God's will and the church and Christianity are unsuitable and that you will now follow your own will, not attend church, and stop praying and reading the Bible because you feel neglected by God. We must lovingly but firmly rebuke this decision because it does not align with biblical truth and it will lead you further into emptiness rather than peace.
To declare my will instead of God's will is to place ourselves on a path that seems right for a moment but leads away from life. Proverbs 14:12 says There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Romans 12:2 tells us Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. God's will is not unsuitable, it is good and perfect, even when we do not understand it. Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways, says Yahweh. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Jesus himself modeled submission when he prayed in Luke 22:42 saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.
We also hear your feeling of neglect, and we want you to know that feeling neglected is not the same as being neglected by God. His promise is clear in Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid or scared of them, for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. And again in Hebrews 13:5 he has said, I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you. Psalm 34:18 says Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. When we feel distant, the invitation is not to stop praying and reading but to draw closer, for James 4:8 says Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
To stop attending church, to stop praying, and to stop reading Scripture cuts you off from the very means God uses to comfort, correct, and sustain us. Hebrews 10:25 warns us not forsaking our assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. The church is not a perfect place of perfect people, but it is the family God gave us for encouragement and growth. And the Bible is not just a book, it is God breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness as 2 Timothy 3:16 says. When we stop praying and reading, we silence the voice of the One who wants to speak to our pain.
We also notice that your request mentions God but not Jesus Christ, and we must speak to this because there is no access to the Father and no salvation apart from him. John 14:6 says Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. Acts 4:12 says There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection for our sins, that we can be reconciled to God and truly know that we are not forsaken. We encourage you to call upon his name and trust in him alone.
We pray together for you now.
Father in heaven, we come before you in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this dear one who is hurting and has declared a turning away from your will, from your church, from prayer and from your word. Lord, we ask you to soften this heart and reveal that your will is not unsuitable but is loving and perfect. Forgive the decision to follow self will over your will and bring repentance and surrender. Heal the wound of feeling neglected and show in a powerful way that you have never left nor forsaken. Draw this one back to yourself, restore a hunger for prayer and for Scripture, and lead back to fellowship with believers where encouragement and truth can be found. Let your nearness be felt to this broken heart, and help this soul to trust in you with all the heart and not lean on own understanding according to Proverbs 3:5-6. We ask that you make straight the path and bring hope where there is disappointment, all in the saving name of Jesus Christ, amen.
We urge you not to remain in this place of turning away. Instead of declaring my will be done, we encourage you to pray daily thy will be done, to return to gathering with believers even when it is hard, and to open the Bible again even for a few verses a day and to pour out your honest hurt to God in prayer. He hears, he cares, and he has not neglected you.
