I’m going to give you the truth Adele.
You ask how do you start believing in God? To do so requires action first on God’s part.
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:44 ESV
I don’t believe us humans make the first step towards God, I believe he first steps towards us. I don’t believe we have the capacity to believe or obey or repent until he makes it possible.
“When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.””
Acts 11:18 ESV
Notice there God is the one who grants repentance both to believe and serve.
And here:
“correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,”
2 Timothy 2:25 ESV
And here:
“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”
Romans 2:4 ESV
So it is God who must grant you repentance to believe in him first and then to obey his command to be saved.
That said, clearly you’re seeking at least a higher power. Allow me to point you to the only God and the highest power - Jesus.
You mentioned you cannot feel him. The unregenerate, that is the unsaved cannot feel this.
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!””
Romans 8:14-15 ESV
So, you cannot feel God’s presence. Those who belong to God are lead by him. Those who are born again, have received the spirit of adoption. Meaning the Holy Spirit.
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”
Romans 8:16 ESV
Those who are saved, the Holy Spirit confirms to them they are saved. So the saved know they are saved and the Holy Spirit actively confirms this. The Holy Spirit speaks to the heart of the saved and testifies to us that we belong to him.
Here is a great sermon on that subject:
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/45-59/the-spirit-confirms-our-adoption
You admit you don’t believe in God…but want to. So you cannot be saved. No one can be saved and not believe in God. Therefore you cannot feel his presence.
Most Helpful Opinions
I don't think it's a good idea to pick a religious idea and try to force yourself to believe it; that's probably not going to work. I know I thought panentheism was really cool when I found out about it, so I 'decided' I was going to be a pantheist. But the reality was I didn't actually believe it, I was just playing at it. I did the same thing with the ancient Norse gods, acting like Odin, Loki, and Thor were gods that I believed in. I tried really hard even, but it didn't take.
Instead, a much better plan imho, is to do some learning about different philosophies and religions that many different people have around the planet, and I'm sure you will find something that really fits how you feel naturally.
There's a cool book called "Sophie's World: A Novel About the History of Philosophy". which you might be able to read for free from a library if you don't want to buy it. It basically illustrates a lot of philosophical concepts.
I personally don't have a religion or god, though I used to believe in god and pray to and talk to him/her/it. Now I am more or less agnostic and Buddhist, though I don't adhere to any agnostic or buddhist principles or rules, those are just the philosophies that best describe how I naturally feel about reality. I feel like the real "truth" of reality is fairly well described or at least approached, by the concept of Tao.
I wish you luck on your spiritual journey. It sounds like with your interactions with spirits and/or demons, you might find a belief system that fits you, but it might not be your standard Christianity or Islam type religion.
If you had encounters with spirits, they were not good ones. The only reason anyone would have an encounter with a genuine angel would be if God dispatched an angel to either protect you from something or get you out of a jam. And even then, you may not see the angel because they are invisible, unless they want to be seen. It is possible that a person can be possessed by a demon if they delve into the occult, say with a Ouija board. A Christian cannot be possessed because the Holy Spirt resides inside them. So if you having these experiences I will assume you are not a Christian. That is why you find no peace in going to church. The things of God, to those who are perishing in this world, is foolishness, because they are spiritually appraised and make no sense to the unbeliever. Only the fool believes in his heart that there is no God. God has no obligation to help the unbeliever. Your prayers will most likely not be heard. The prayer that God will hear is when you ask Jesus to come into your life and repent. Then when you receive the Holy Spirit your prayers will be heard and you will have peace as all your sins will be forgiven, and you will have a new meaning for your life. I hope this helps. If you have any questions you can send me a message.
Hmmm…try opening your heart to accepting. Just get on your knees and ask Christ to be in your life. Let him know that you don’t know why you are doing what you are doing, and that you just really need answers and help. Christ especially loves those who are broken, and feel lost. Not so he can take advantage of them, rather so he can help them realize they are not alone.
Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
When you don’t know what you are praying for, or what you are praying about, just say “Holy Spirit intercede for me”. Sometimes we need some help, and the Holy Spirit can help us.
Romans 8:26
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
I am actually glad you asked this question. Everything I just said, is a very good reminder to me as well.
Sometimes as humans, we feel like there is no way out, but there is. 🌸💜
What Girls & Guys Said
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23Opinion
You need to be convinced that a God exists. You cannot simply choose a belief in a god any more than you could choose to believe in Bigfoot or unicorns or the Easter bunny simply because you thought it would be a fun or satisfying belief to have.
Instead, I would suggest looking deep into why you feel you require such a belief.
Do you care whether or not what you believe is true? That seems like an obvious, rhetorical question but it's not - sincerely, do you care? Would you rather be convinced of a God claim despite it being false if it somehow satisfied this requirement you have for spirituality? If your answer is yes, I can't help you.
I'd like to explore your line "atheism isn't working for me" - there's nothing (real and positive) that theism offers that atheism does not. Perhaps talking about that would be a far more advantageous discussion to have.Oof. I... dayum. So that's a good one. Like a REALLY good one. But i suppose if you weren't to believe in a long time, then you'd just have to stop. Think sure god is up there... and he might be looking down on you with love. But you just keep going about your days until something happens where you can't believe such a thing could happen... good or bad. Good- because wow, they did something. Bad- BRUH, ARE YOU F**KIN' KIDDING ME? WHY DA FUK WOULD YOU DROP THIS SHI- And turns out it was something you needed to grow. <3
So yeah, something like that could help.God is not existential alone. God requires obedience and regular relationship.
Prayer: (John 1:1) Declaration , (Matthew 6:9-13/Lords Prayer), and then talk to God. What’s up with the evil spirit is okay to ask.
Are you sure you’re saved? Indwelled Holy Spirit guards against any other spiritual indwelling.The thing with belief is that it's too often treated as an act of identity claiming rather than a true reflection of what you think inside of you. Unfortunately it isn't a choice as to what we believe; we either do or do not. May I ask what encourages you to want to believe?
If you truly call out to Jesus I don't care what anyone else says
He will answer you and you will feel his presence but you have to really mean it
He will not turn his child awayKeep praying and ask God to come into your life and repent He will not forsake youYou're beating yourself up by not adhering to social standards. One does not need a bible to know God. Did Jesus read the Bible?
I think obviously sense you have mental health concerns. You should be very cautious.
I recommend to you as I do to most.. meditation
Observe your thoughts just let them come n go without judgement. Through time you'll find yourself closer to God.I don't know, you start a self-delusion circle, ignore lack of evidence of an existence and ignore prof that if that if a god existed he isn't doing his job. Because the world is full of shit that shouldn't be there if there was a divine presence that actually did follow some kind of good code.
God is there waiting for you. He is patient, and will be there when you are ready. Believing in god and religion is a choice of faith. God could show himself to the world and everyone no how powerful and mighty he is and the world would be saved. But why? Would it be out of fear, or because you didn't have a choice? God gives you choices in everything you do and his words should give you faith that he is real, he is with us and that one day he will come to take all of his children home. When that day comes all will see his love for the ones who chose to have faith in him and the ones who listened to the nonbelievers and had no faith will feel his wrath.
If you repeat something enough, you'll learn it, then you'll internalise it and believe it.
Which is why religions place such a paramount importance on prayer. Especially in the abscence of physical evidence of a god, thats really the only way to cutivate belief.I have never seen god. I do not a single person who have seen god. Some people may argue, existence of God on the basis of creation of Universe.
Even if the "GOD" created the universe, i don't believe it had a body like Jesus, Allah or Krishna. And i don't believe that it can hear prayers or change things accordingly.many people have a crisis of faith, it's pretty normal, somewhere inside you... you know he Exists... no matter the evidence to the contrary... So, remain calm and ask yourself this... "Why does God want me to renew my commitment to faith? Have I wandered away from the "Path"? , do that... and wait for His amswer"
GOD Christ is above the dome
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LMr6Qb0_5kM
what are you talking aboutthis is the real earth and yes the snake and tree are real
Thats like asking how to becone honest.
If you need to ask, you are not yet on the right level, kiddoIs it a choice or a conclusion? I could no more believe in God than I could believe in Santa Claus.
Do not feel God. Understand God, read the scriptures and understand them
Try reading the Bible. Especially the New Testament.
You can't make yourself believe in the Christian God anymore than you can make yourself believe in Zeus or Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. You either do or you don't.
Don't bother, it's all bs anyway.
As far as your hallucinations go, thats more something you have a doctor treat.Can't you tell a creator exist? Don't you see His fingerprints of creation everywhere?
Use the brain God gave humans. 🙄One of the easiest ways to first pledge your soul to the Unholy Master. He lies and manipulates and takes you to a place of total darkness. Then, you will seek God with every fiber of your being.
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