10 Reasons to Trust God plus a Trust and Confidence Prayer

Strengthen your faith with these 10 reasons to trust God, and pray St. Padre Pio’s Trust and Confidence Prayer for help trusting God.

Why does God permit evil? The evil in the world can weigh heavy upon my heart at times. A lot of times! I am sure you wrestle with the same question sometimes. The world is probably even worse than I imagine, because my husband is always telling me how “innocent” I am. I like to believe that most people will get to Heaven. But, “wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat,” (Luke 7:13).

People often abuse their God-given free will to cause destruction on earth. “Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata – of creatures that worked like machines – would hardly be worth creating,” (C.S. Lewis, The Case for Christianity). Essentially, God gave us free will because He loves us and wants us to have a choice. He wants us to love Him, but He wants us to love Him freely.

As a result, we live in a broken world full of broken people. And “hurt people hurt people,” as the saying goes. The only way to have hope in the midst of all this brokenness is to trust God. Trusting God can be difficult, but I will give you 10 reasons to trust God, as well as a Trust and Confidence prayer you can say to build your trust in the Lord.

What does it mean to trust God?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “trust” as an “assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something.” Therefore, to trust God is to be sure that He is reliable, able, strong, and true. In other words, to trust God means to rely on His strength against evil and to believe in His promises.

What are the benefits of trusting God?

“Come to me all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you,” (Matt 11:28). God wants you to give your whole heart, your whole mind, and your whole soul to Him. When we give ourselves completely to God, He gives so much more in return. He gives us true peace.

God wants to give you everything! But He never forces Himself upon anyone. We have to accept His love in order to reap the benefits of His grace. But when we accept His love and trust His word and His strength, great things happen. We can breath!

It is exhausting trying to do life all by yourself. That is because we are not meant to do it alone. We are not even meant to do it with just family and friends, though Jesus often works through family and friends. We are meant to do life while leaning against Jesus like St. John the Beloved leaned against Jesus at the Last Supper. At Jesus’ heart is where peace is found – true peace, not lack of suffering. Suffering is inevitable as long as free will exists, but God offers peace to all those who are burdened. We need only trust Him.

10 Reasons to Trust God

Now that we know what it means to trust God, the next question is: why should we trust God? Here are 10 reasons to trust God:

1. God is all-good.

God is not only good, but God is Goodness Itself. All good comes from Him. Everything He creates is good. “And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good,” (Gen 1:31). Evil is simply a lack of good, and therefore a lack of God. Evil exists in this world because God has given us free will to choose Him, as well as to not choose Him. And we are social creatures, so the sins of others who choose not to follow God inevitably affect those who do follow Him. But in the end, we shouldn’t worry, because God conquers all evil.

2. God is all-powerful.

God has ultimate power over all of creation because He created it. All of the gifts and blessings that you have are given to you by God. And all of the “power” that Satan has comes from God too. Sometimes it may seem as though we are in the midst of a war between good and evil, God and Satan. But really, God has already won the war. However, that does not mean that we are all automatically going to Heaven. God has won the war against Satan, but He still gives us the choice of whether or not to fight on His side. However, if we choose to fight on His side, He will be with us all the way.

3. God is all-present.

God is present everywhere. When praying, a lot of people think of God as someone outside of us. But being all-present means that God is present in us. Jenna Riemersma in Altogether You calls this our Imago Dei or “God Image.” “And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them,”. (Gen 1:27). We are all made in the image and likeness of God. And in that Imago Dei, God is present in each and every one of us. He did not just create us and forget us.

Sometimes it may seem as though God is not there. This is often a purposeful test of our faith. Even the great saints go through this testing of faith. St. Teresa of Calcutta, also known as Mother Teresa, endured over fifty years of this type of desolation in order to strengthen her faith in God. But even when life seems like it can’t possibly get any harder, God is there to help guide us from within, whether we “feel” His presence or not.

4. God is all-knowing.

God knows the number of stars in the sky and the number of hairs on your head. He knows what you ate for breakfast this morning, what you are thinking right now, and what you will wear tomorrow. He knows you better than you know yourself.

However, we often get upset when God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way we expect. We often get frustrated with our Heavenly Father for not giving us what we want, similar to how a child gets frustrated when his parents don’t give him what he wants.

But sometimes a child’s desires aren’t in his best interest, and the parent must practice tough love in denying the child his desires despite the child’s response. In the same way, God sometimes practices tough love with us, not because He doesn’t want to give us things, but because He wants to give us the best!

6. God is merciful.

I cannot count the times that God forgave His people in the Old Testament after they forgot God (yet again!) and worshiped idols. But God is patient with His people and gives them many chances to follow Him.

And in the New Testament, the story of forgiveness that comes first to mind is the story of the Good Thief who lay on the cross next to Jesus. “And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise,” (Luke 23:42-43). This shows that it is never too late to ask the Lord to forgive your sins. And remember, He is all-powerful, so there is also no sin that is too great for God to forgive.

Lastly, Jesus has given us the Sacrament of Penance so that, if we are sorry for our sins, we may be forgiven our sins by a priest in persona christi (in the person of Christ). And once you have received forgiveness from Christ, ask God for the grace to amend your life, and trust that He will give it to you.

7. God is love.

God is the source of all love. Without God, there can be no love. Not only does the Lord love you, but He loves you perfectly, with an infinite love. His love surpasses all understanding. If you grew up without a father, or with a bad father, it can be difficult to acknowledge God the Father’s love for you. But God is the perfect Father. And he can heal those wounds if you let Him. He can heal all wounds!

God loves you so much that He suffered a great death for you. “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13). Because He is infinite, Jesus could have paid for our sins with a suffering as small as a papercut. But He wanted to show us how much He loves us. If you ever wonder whether God loves you, just look at a crucifix. He loves you! More than you can ever understand.

8. God is truth.

Just like God is the source of all love, He is also the source of truth. He is Truth. God cannot lie. Sometimes He takes His sweet time in fulfilling His promises, but He always keeps His promises. He promised Abraham descendants as many as “the stars of heaven,” (Gen 26:4), and though Sarah was barren for many years, she bore Abraham a son, through whom the many Israelites came to be.

And when Jesus said, “Destroy this temple; and in three days I will raise it up,” (John 2:19), He promised that He would ascend from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion. Even though His disciples did not understand what He meant by this, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, which we will be celebrating very soon on Easter Sunday. Though people may fail us at times with broken promises, we can rely on God to keep His word.

9. God is life.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst,” (John 6:35). When we choose other gods over the everlasting God, our lives feel empty and pointless. But when we choose to follow God, who is Life, we become full of life. Our lives become meaningful, even in the midst of suffering. But beyond this life, we are meant to partake in everlasting life. Ultimately, we are made to spend eternal life with God, who loves us more than anyone, in Heaven.

10. God is unchanging.

Lastly, God does not change. The above nine reasons for trusting God will always be true. Because God is perfect by definition, He has no need to change. People change, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. But God is 100% reliable because He will always be all-good, He will always be merciful, and He will always be love. You can depend on Him!

How do we trust God?

Now that we know 10 reasons for trusting God, how do we trust God? Here are some practical tips:

1. Fake it ’til you make it! It works with trusting God too. Act as though you trust Him. Tell Him that you trust Him. Say, “Jesus, I trust in you.” Say it every time you get out of bed and every time you get into bed, until it becomes true.
2. Write down the reasons to trust God that most resonate with you, and review them every night before you go to bed. This will serve as a reminder in times of hardship.
3. Pray for trust. You can use the Litany of Trust, the Divine Mercy chaplet, or St. Padre Pio’s Trust and Confidence Prayer below.

However you decide to practice trust in God, remember that everyone doubts God from time to time. But ultimately, trust is a choice.

Trust and Confidence Prayer

If you have trouble trusting God, then ask Him to help you trust Him. Here is a trust and confidence prayer, written by St. Padre Pio:

O Lord, we ask for a boundless confidence and trust in Your divine mercy, and the courage to accept the crosses and sufferings which bring immense goodness to our souls and that of Your Church. Help us to love You with a pure and contrite heart, and to humble ourselves beneath Your cross, as we climb the mountain of holiness, carrying our cross that leads to heavenly glory. May we receive You with great faith and love in Holy Communion, and allow You to act in us, as You desire, for Your greater glory. O Jesus, most adorable heart and eternal fountain of Divine Love, may our prayer find favor before the Divine Majesty of Your Heavenly Father. Amen.

Conclusion

Trusting God doesn’t always come easy, but we need God. We can’t do life by ourselves. We need an all-good, all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing, just, merciful, true, loving, life-giving, and unchanging God to help us. Above, I gave you 10 reasons to trust God, as well as a Trust and Confidence Prayer to say when you find it difficult to trust in God. Pray St. Padre Pio’s Trust and Confidence Prayer when you find yourself doubting God’s promises like the Israelites in the dessert. And always remember: God loves you so much that He died on the cross so that you might live!

In what areas of your life do you have trouble trusting God? Let me know in the comments below!

SOURCES

St. Padre Pio’s Trust and Confidence Prayer:
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/st-pio-prayer-of-trust-and-confidence-380

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