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There was a time when I asked my child, "How is your relationship with God lately? Is there anything we can pray about together?"

She replied, "That’s between God and me. You don’t need to worry about it."

In that moment, I was stunned.

The statement sounds correct, even carrying a sense of spiritual righteousness: faith is personal, and everyone must answer to God individually. But in that instant, what I felt was a blunt push—I had reached out with a hand of care, only to find that all the windows had been slammed shut.This "correct" way of speaking brought more than just boundaries to our relationship; it brought a cold distance.

I began to realize a problem: when "faith is a personal matter" is interpreted as not needing to share or carry one's burdens with others, are we protecting our faith, or are we slowly pulling it away from the community?

Healthy Faith: Active Connection (Nehemiah)

From a biblical perspective, healthy faith is never isolated. Nehemiah’s spiritual life is a clear example of this. He lived a secure life in the palace, yet he took the initiative to ask about the condition of God’s people far away (Neh 1:2–4). When he heard the walls were broken and the people were in distress, he didn't think, "That’s their business." Instead, he wept, fasted, and prayed for them.

What’s even more moving is that he mentioned in his prayer: "the prayer of your servants who delight in fearing your name" (Neh 1:11). He knew clearly that he was not alone on this path.

His faith did not stop at personal piety; it was deeply connected to a group of people who also feared God. Though his body was in the palace, his heart was within that "we."

Later, he said, "The trouble we are in... let us build" (Neh 2:17). Faith gains its weight precisely in this kind of connection and shared burden.

The Illusion of Loneliness: A Tired Vision (Elijah)

In reality, however, people often feel alone. Under immense pressure and fear, the prophet Elijah said to God, "I am the only one left" (1 Kings 19:10).That wasn't an exaggeration; it was the rawest feeling of a person who was completely burnt out. When the battle persists, responses are few, and understanding is absent, it is easy to believe you are the only one still standing.But God said, "I have reserved for myself seven thousand" (Rom 11:4).God did not rebuke him. He simply, gently corrected his vision.

Human feelings shrink under stress, but God’s work does not diminish. Often, spiritual 

loneliness isn't because there is no community; it's because, in that moment, we simply cannot see them.When the idea that "faith is personal" overlaps with the experience of "I can't see anyone else," faith easily slides into spiritual isolation. Consequently, we stop sharing and stop watching over one another. Faith gradually turns into a closed, private experience.

The New Commandment: Finding "Us" Again

The Lord Jesus Christ said: "A new command I give you: Love one another... By this everyone will know that you are my disciples" (John 13:34–35).The mark of a disciple is not just the "Me and God" relationship, but living out a life connected to others within a real "Us."

Perhaps this isn't always comfortable. Just as "iron sharpens iron," connection involves friction and even pain. But it is precisely in these relationships that faith stops being an isolated endurance and becomes a life that is protected, refined, and witnessed. We don't need to use "personal responsibility" to mask our fear of connection. Because in the end, faith is not "mine alone," nor is it "only me left."

It is the "Us"—lived out together among the people of God.