Christians, how do you know that God is there? (not an offensive question)?

Question

In high school my friend invited me to her youth group. I didn't go to church (my parents aren't religious), but I did pray to God every night before I went to bed. I loved him and wanted to know more about him and I wanted to praise him. I was really excited to go to youth group with her because I wanted to strenthen my relationship with God.

When I got there they turned out all of the lights and sang songs and then the pastor would tell us some inspirational speech. When people were singing they would put their palms up and some people would start to cry and stuff. I concentrated so much on God and all of the wonders he created, how lucky I was that he had given me life. The pastor gave his message and I prayed and I thought about it. I never ever felt any connection to God though. I went back every week and I tried so hard. I know that people will say that I was more into the idea of trying to feel something just for the sake of feeling it. That wasn't the case. I believed in God with all of my heart. I didn't even get frustrated when after months and months of praying and singing and worshiping, I didn't feel a thing. Not a single connection to God. Even though my parents had told me it was better not to mix myself up in religion, I kept going to the meetings because I knew that His spirit would come to me eventually.

A few months after I started youth group I went to church with my friend. I still didn't feel anything. By that point I did get frustrated. I felt like God hated me. I felt like I was doing something wrong and I didn't deserve to feel his presence. I had truly believed in him. Why did other people feel his presence so strongly and I never did?

After about a year I was like "Enough is enough. I'm not going to make myself feel bad about myself. I won't make myself feel like I'm not worth it. I put all of my faith into him and he doesn't even care." Instead of the church strengthening the small relationship that I had with God, it had ruined my faith.

So my question is this: How do you know that God is there? And please don't tell me that I never felt him because I didn't REALLY believe. I did, and I wanted to praise him for his amazing work. Because I truly did believe. But now I just can't :-(

Serious answers only, please. Thank you.

Answer 1

(Joh 3:18)  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

(Jer 17:9)  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

I know you didn't want this answer, but I'm only giving you the truth according to the Bible. No one really knows that they believed, because of their heart. A Christian knows that they believed because of the evidence of the Holy Spirit in their life. I struggled with the same thing you appear to be struggling with. I thought that I was saved a long time ago. It was when I admitted to myself, and to God that I really didn't believe, and read His Word, that I came to believe the gospel of Christ.

If you want physical evidence of God's existence, just look around you. Look in the mirror. There are so many things involving everyday life that scientists still have not been able to understand. Anyone who has ever seen an explosion understands that explosion cause chaos, not complex life forms. There is no way to prove God's existence. If this was possible, there would be no need for faith, but that doesn't mean that we aren't supposed to base our faith by evidence. Ask yourself when you see something, "could that have come here by accident?" It's just simple logic. I hope that I could help.

Answer 2

Hi Taylor, can see from your question, u still love God.

Have you make the sinner's prayer???

If not 2 things to do------

1) accept Jesus as your Saviour

2) pray for the Holy Spirit to be with you READ the book Acts

When I'm down, I pray to God n I can feel Him when normal times i don't feel Him around too much but know in my heart that He is with me n always will.

I think u should change church. A church should help you grow near to God n help you when you have trouble.

Hope I did help u

May u feel God's love n blessing around you

Daughter of God

Answer 3

You sound so sincere, that is such a blessing.  If you didn't feel the presence of the Lord there, I can believe He wasn't there.  Not all churches "allow" Him in.  Follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, not a persons opinion, and He will take care of you.  You can find Him in the Bible and in your own prayer time.  You have experienced something few understand.  Don't let that bad experience keep you from continuing in your relationship with God, please.  You may find another church where you will feel His presence and you may not.  But you can still seek God for yourself, you don't have to have someone to tell you what to do.  Sounds like you were already doing a good job of it before you went to that church.  Seek the Lord and you WILL find Him and He will reward you for your efforts.

Answer 4

I felt the exact same way you did...so many prayers unanswered...a lot of suffering and still nothing even when I cried out a million times - I had a lot of anger issues with God and then one day before walking into one of my classes...I casually said God be with me expecting absolutely nothing and it just happened. The Presence of God completely filled my awareness... he filled the entire room and I was physically there but spiritually in this high spiritual place with just God...just Him and me and I felt so loved and secure...nothing could touch me and my senses where blocked too..I didn't hear what the Prof. said or was even aware of what was going on around me for the twenty minutes I was in the class (why in the world did I have to come late for that class?). It was impossible because God's Presence is so overwhelming and powerful and yet very loving and I have never felt so secure in my life and doubt that I ever will without Him. He is REAL. There are other things that have happened too. The bad things didn't stop, however I know that God does exist. Don't be angry or frustrated, although I understand how you feel because I was once there and still struggle with things. The Bible says to believe in faith but I like Thomas in the Bible had to see to believe. I pray that God will reveal himself to you. Keep seeking Him and you will find Him. Don't stop believing. Joy comes from believing in God and praising Him, so don't stop praising Him, Believe!

God Bless

Answer 5

I didn't grow up in a house with religion either. I too tried churches when I was a teenager and was surprised to find that God was not there.    

I have found Him through daily talks and reading the bible as well as other religious books (any that I can get my hands on....lol.)

God isn't contained in any building or man-made religion.   I know He is there because I can feel Him now and He has answered so many prayers and questions of mine ...once I understood that He will answer by any means possible.

It is great that you just don't blindly follow the crowd and hope that someday you will 'get' it!

God Bless and good luck.

Answer 6

What a refreshing question.  

I hate to break it to you, but it sounds like your brain is just too emotionally mature to fall for outlandish beliefs.  You tried your best, and you couldn't believe in a god, which is really no different than an grown adult going to kindergarten and trying as hard as they can to believe in Frosty the Snowman.  The little kids can do it, but you can't, because you KNOW that it's just make-believe.

The good news is that once you realize that supernatural things aren't real, you can appreciate the amazing grandeur of life and the universe on a level that theists can never approach.  The curtain has been removed from your eyes, and you see existence as it really is.  Congratulations.

Answer 7

He has always been that little voice of conscience on my ear.  He is why I marvel at the night sky, and the reason that I love, why I shed my tears for my first child.  He is the reason the moon pulls the tide to the shore. He is my Savior and so much more.

Answer 8

hello. i am not here to tell you that there is no all-loving, omniscient christian god who cares for you and loves you. i am not here to tell you that despite his "love", the majority of people who have ever lived will supposedly burn in eternity for not believing in jesus, especially without a shred of real evidence. i am not here to tell you that if there is an all loving god, how could the world be so cruel, and children dying every few seconds from starvation, aids, and dysentery. i am not here to tell you that there is no possible way, by any stretch of the imagination, that two of all the animals in the world were on a boat with 8 humans for two months. i am not here to tell you that the christian god hates women, promotes slavery, and rape and murder. i am not here to tell you that evolution is fact, with no if's, and's, nor but's. but most of all, i am not here to tell you that such a god does not exist, you already knew that.

Answer 9

i appreciate you.  really i say this.  i consider this one of the best questions i like.  how your narration in the form of addl details..wow..superb.

but,

i will not answer in long sentences..

a simple answer..

you can compare my answer to your question..

i am showing you a bowl full of milk. i am asking you to see the ghee in the milk.  do you see the ghee in the milk.  you will answer '' no ' you are unable to see the ghee in the milk.  it is true that there is ghee in the milk, but unable to see in the milk.

my friend, how do you know that ghee is there? (how do you know that God is there)

simple..very simple..  you boil the milk, make to curd and butter and heat the butter, now the ghee is in your hand.  you can see the ghee now.

similarly,

you put faith.  you believe.  you pray.  you worship. you trust.  now see the God appears before you.  like ghee in your hand.  what is the difference?  no difference.  you can't see the ghee in the milk. similarly, you can not see the God.  you can see the ghee, similarly you can see the God.  what you have done to see the ghee, that you should do in other forms with devotion, trust, belief.  understand?

you have no chance to hear.  Manay many christians are seeing the God by their devotion, trust, belief and their prayers.  Try your level best.  best of luck.

Answer 10

Hello. I can understand how you might feel the way you do. You are not alone. I hope this is of some help. I read where you said that you didn't go to church, only the meetings. And I know that you mentioned your parents weren't going. So I'm going to illustrate it like this and hope you can relate. Let's say, your first child has just been born. Now, among your friends you are the first to have a child, none of them do. And since none of them do, you have found that you only spend time with your child when you aren't busy with activities with your friends. (Hypothetically speaking here, so just run with it.) Can you imagine what kind of bond you might have with your child if you only spent once or twice a week with him/her for just a few hrs or so? You knew you loved your son or daughter, but you just didn't make the time on a daily basis to create that bond that is really needed to feel loved or to love someone. It's the same with God. For years I grew up in church, but never took the time on a daily basis to really get to know God. How can we ever really know anybody or have a really close relationship with anybody if we aren't spending time with them and desiring to know what pleases them. That is what God longs for. It becomes a desire that you can't live without once you make God a part of your everyday life. Daily prayer time, reading His word, praise and worship. That's where people tend to stray, because it is discipline. For me it took my husband dying to truly commit my life to Him. And now looking back, I don't know what I was doing with my life before I made Him a part of it until it's become second nature. I encourage you to never give up! And I'll let you in on something I found through study; Just by you asking this question is God calling you to Him, to not turn away, and that He does care and He does listen. Just by you wondering is His answer for you. He is still calling you. And I can guarantee that if you make Him a part of your everyday life, you will feel His presence in a way above and beyond your imagination! Hang in there! :) He has a plan for you.  

Answer 11

It seems from your question that you were looking for an existential knowledge of God, something which comes from within, but as a Christian, God as unveiled in the life of Jesus was about the formation of communities, bringing humans together who would not have otherwise cared about each other.  He brought humans together, teaching them once again how to know each other, relate to one another, and therefore create opportunities for others to be included in this participatory event.  To put it simply, Western culture is inherently individualistic, so we want to have our experiences match our worldview, i.e. individually.  It sometimes does not work out like that.  The word presence in Hebrew, (the presence of God) is the same word used for face.  The point of knowing God relates to our interaction with other people, so the real question would be, "When you see another person, what do you see in their face?" "Has your perception of others been altered?" That is to know the presence of God.  Christianity is not "belief in belief in God", it is fully embodied in everything we do, going beyond going to church or youth group.  

Answer 12

what would make you believe? try another church....try talking to different ministers, I began to have a relationship with GOD when I started volunteering as a young person at nursing homes...get involved, help others

Answer 13

Try a different church.

If you're sitting in a seat at a ballgame, and the people in front of you make it hard for you to see what's going on, move to a different seat.

You know God's out there -- that's why you're looking --- you just can't see from where you are.

Read the Bible, pray, and find a different church, and you'll eventually find God.

Godspeed you on your journey.

Answer 14

I think it is just like everything else in life...you have to find what works best for you.  I don't go to church every Sunday...I wish I did and there are times when I do get on track and go every week...but usually I end up missing and then missing for a long time.  The problem is, I don't find that strong connection with God in church.  I have at times, certain masses where a message really touches me...but most of the time I hear a lot of judgement or something else that just doesn't sit right with me.  

But, for me I know I can go out into the world...most of the time in nature and feel a strong connection.  Sitting and looking at the sky day or night, rain or shine...I just feel that presence.  I can go and walk in the woods and feel that presence.  I can go to the beach, look out at a corn field, look at a mountain.  All of those...that is where I feel my connection to God.  I don't think one way is better or worse than the others...some can really feel the connection in church or at a youth group...I tend to feel mine in nature.  I'm sure others feel it at other times or at other places.  You shouldn't make yourself feel bad...and if I were you I wouldn't go out and try so hard to feel it...you eventually will.  I know that sounds kind of lame, but in this case I think it is true.  You said you pray at night...I do too...that is the other place I really feel the connection.

Also, when I say "connection" I don't want it to sound like it is more than it is.  When I say I feel that connection, it is just a feeling I get that I know God is there...no tingling, no voices, no nothing except a feeling of "good" and knowing God is there.

Answer 15

This is a very good question. I admire your honesty and your willingness to keep trying.  This is a mysterious thing.  Our experience of God will come to each us in different ways.  It is a far better thing that you are doing -- which is an honest inquiry -- than faking it.  Part of faith is a decision to accept what you do not experience.  There are many devout people who have their own way of understanding that is not necessarily something they feel.  To me, it sounds like you know more than you think you know. Trust yourself.  See if you can find another way.  For me, the secret is simply learning to keep my heart open.  To be loving and accepting of others.  Over time, I have found great rewards in that.  There is more than one way that we can all find that connection you seek.  

I wish for you the gift of hope and faith in your journey.