Should I always trust my FOC? and other questions

mikeforjesus

Suppose someone is struggling with the idea? of confessing to a priest about something because he is not sure if he should confess about this "something" ?... many times he sees the priest talking to some people and decides to change his mind.. but he still thinks about confessing to the priest and he prays a prayer? like this to the LORD "LORD God, if You want me to confess to the priest let him be alone this time" and he finds the priest alone...

Is it okay to pray like this? I would ask how do you know if God made the priest alone or satan? but then I think some people might say well satan would not want this person to confess. In this case I might agree but what if you pray a prayer similar like this for instance? if you want to get married? you say "LORD God, if You want me to marry this person let her say hello to me when I walk past her"
Can you pray like this to God? is it wrong?


(sometimes I use ? to mean that im lost if I should use that word I think)


But I want to ask another important question... Should I always trust my FOC? What if he is giving wrong advice and I dont know it? should we always believe God will speak through him if we pray to God that he does speak through him? If your priest believes in some heresys (not meaning my priest does) should we still believe God will speak through him for us?

Maybe I dont always want to think much about whether my FOC's advice is right or wrong because I want to do something else.. like read a spiritual book.. I dont want to be troubled about one matter for a long time?

I think other people here might have similar questions on their heart.

God help us all!

Unknown

if you want to get married? you say "LORD God, if You want me to marry this person let her say hello to me when I walk past her"
Can you pray like this to God? is it wrong?

I would consider this wrong; I would categorise it as testing or tempting the Lord. God simply doesn’t operate like that, He reveals His will His own way, and the most you can do to guarantee that it you are acting accordingly, is to pray, to trust and love Him with all your heart – which means following His commandments, and to consult your spiritual adviser(s). All things will fall into place if you maintain perfect harmony and regularity amongst all the above mentioned elements.

I spoke a little more in length concerning discerning the will of God in a previous thread. I will paste my post from then:

I think most of us have sought to discern God's will over many issues in our life, from the trivial to the most significant, but we forget the bigger picture of what God's ultimate will really is: To have a relationship with us, that we may be conformed to the image of His Son.

In every aspect of our lives, our social life, our area of work, our family life etc. etc. God plans it so that this ultimate goal may be achieved. We have to remember something, and that is God is more concerned about our journey rather than our destination. God uses our journey, full of decision making, according to His will to ultimately transform us into the likeness of His Son. So for example, God may lead a student to an engineering course rather than the law course he always wanted - for God is not ultimately concerned with whether this student becomes an engineer or a lawyer, but rather God knows that the journey this student will take in his engineering course - the things he learns, the people he meets, the places it takes him etc etc will ultimately work towards His ultimate goal. In the Kingdom of God, the journey may be the very purpose, and as hard as it is to fathom, the final direction we take may not even matter at all. The kingdom of heaven has a much radically different perspective for us, than the results-oriented-driven society we live in.

As God says: Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law."

The Word of God clearly tell us very simply, how we can be assured that God's will is taking place in our lives: Trust and Love - the two most important aspects of any relationship.

1)   Love:

Deuteronomy 6:5 "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

Once we perfect this, St Paul tells us:

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. "

2) Trust:

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

It's important for us to grasp and settle matters between ourselves and God before we go on to consider trivial matters of our own life such as our earthly relationships and issues. God sent His only begotten Son to purchase us with His own precious Blood. We are purchased with a price - an infinitely costly price at that. Christ The reason that its important for us to yield to this matter is because, when we do so, God WILL ABSOLUTELY fulfill every desire that He's placed in our hearts.

We must begin with God, since the answers to every step lie in Him.

Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

But I want to ask another important question... Should I always trust my FOC?

The Holy Spirit certainly works through your Father of Confession; however He does not operate in manner such that your FOC becomes an infallible instrument of God. He can certainly make mistakes and errors in judgement. The key is not in blindly following him, if you think that by doing so you will cause yourself or others harm, but rather the key is to discuss issues with him. A discussion involves each side engaging with the other; offer your concerns regarding his advice, give him your logic, state your opinions, and help him discern the right path with you. Your consultation with your spiritual adviser should not be one resembling a dictatorship, where he tells you what to do, and you humbly accept without question. It should be a co-operative effort between you and your Spiritual adviser, to discern the right path for you. This must be done in the context of much prayer, repentance, obedience to the commandments of our Lord, and partaking of the Eucharist.

If you simply cannot agree with your FOC on a matter, and have strong issues with respect to what he has advised you, then you are free to consult another spiritual adviser who may help you make proper judgement. In the end, God will make His way certain to you.

Ultimately therefore, you should always take you FOC’s advice seriously, as being inspired by the Holy Spirit, but you should engage with him concerning his advice, by offering your opinion, concerns and criticisms, for in the end his advice is also limited according to his personal human capacity.

mikeforjesus

Thankyou Iqbal....

Would you consider praying for the priest to be alone is also tempting the LORD Jesus our God?

Unknown

I generally don't think that any prayer in the form of: "God if you will X then let Y happen, and if Y does not happen I will take that to mean you do not will X", is a good idea, no matter what the subject.

God wants you to confess your sins, that is why it is a Scriptural commandment that is upheld by the Tradition of the Church, so there is no question about whether or not God wills you to confess.

You obviously need your FOC to be alone in order to confess, for confession is a private matter between yourself, your FOC, and God - so simply do all that is within your ability to allow for the appropriate circumstances to arise, and pray that God pathes your way, and that is all. God will make a way for you one way or another if you put in the effort.

I think the easiest resolution to your problem is simply to approach your FOC and tell him that you wish to have regular confession, and ask him to tell you when he is free, or to arrange specific times for you at the convenience of you both. I don't think this should be a big problem. It is his duty to make time for you; you shouldn't have to sit around and wait till you find him free - so take a positive step and consult him regarding the matter.

mikeforjesus

Well in a book I was reading which I think is greek orthodox I think this prayer was considered acceptable..

Unknown

Maybe you would like to quote and reference the passage of this book and we can have a look at what it's really saying in context.

The idea seems absurd to me since Confession is not a thing that takes place arbitrarily simply at the moment you see your FOC "free". Though it can certainly be performed that way, it is something that is more appropriately arranged beforehand. I think you should consider my suggestions in the previous post as a practical solution to your problem; as I said it's your FOC's duty to make time for you, so don't just wait around for him, but tell him you need to confess and you need a time to confess. Maybe he can even arrange a periodic time for you, for example, every week after the Saturday night asheya (vespers) for instance.

mikeforjesus

Depression - A Spiritual Guide by Archimandrite Spyridon Logothetis Page 74 ? ? ? ?

Unknown

I assume you possess this book; so would you like to quote us the passage? A reference doesn't help without the quote :) especially since this is not the kind of book you would likely be able to borrow from any local civil library.

JesusisKingofKings

The passage is long I think.

Unknown

Well I can't really comment on a passage that I can't read :)