C.S. Lewis is good. The whole Chronicles of Narnia series builds faith, although it's fiction. You can see the parallels if you are open to them

EV, I can very much relate to what you are saying. I believe in God, and that his promises are true. I would be happy to talk to you about my beliefs if you PM me about it. We do need to limit discussion of religion on the public forums. I'm not sure exactly where DocJohn intends for the limits to be. The way I understand it is that we need to be respectful of everyone's beliefs (or non-beliefs), no matter what they are, and not post gratuitously about religious topics when it isn't directly relevant to helping someone with mental health questions in a manner that is acceptable to them. But I know that spirituality is part of mental health, and many of our mental health concerns involve religion, and I think that we should be free to talk about that. That's just my opinion though (and I'm sorry, it's not the answer to your question - I just felt the need to say that because there have been so many posts lately that raise this topic, some that cross the line and some that don't, and it's hard to determine which do and which don't sometimes).

In more direct answer to your concern, I also struggle. Although I believe, and I know that God loves his children, the part that I struggle with is that it applies to me. Of course all the rules and commandments apply to me. I just don't know what there is about me that is worth saving and all the good stuff. That makes it hard to pray and do the things that I know I should do sometimes. I have struggled with that since I was a teenager or earlier. I've struggled with depression for that long too. I think that is one of the hardest symptoms to deal with, and maybe also the answer. When I can overcome that one, I think that might be the answer to most of my problems.

TC,
Rap