Seeking the truth: seeking an encounter with God and receiving the silent treatment

TruthSeek3r

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For more than 7 months I've been researching the spirit realm. I've watched more than 300 (and counting) testimonies including even whole books with hundreds of pages each. Take a look at the testimonies I've watched in this link (work in progress).

At the same time, I've been seeking a personal encounter with God all along. Unfortunately, all I receive is silence. The silent treatment.

What can I do? On the one hand, I've come across astonishing mind-blowing powerful supernatural testimonies of the spirit realm, but on the other hand, I only receive silence, and it's been like that for 7 months now.

I just don't understand what's the matter. This paradox between astonishing testimonies vs null personal experience is driving me crazy.

I feel like getting myself enclosed in a room for 10 days straight for full-time praying and fasting (like the apostles in the upper room), but frustratingly and sadly I just don't have the privacy and the time to do it (I'm burdened with the responsibilities of studying a PhD). I really wish I could.

What can I do?
 
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GospelS

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I once thought the same like you said but when God finally encountered me, I've realized that all my research and study was only a training to prepare me to have that encounter with Him. I think you are doing good and i'm confident that God will soon meet you in His perfect timing. Don't be discouraged. You will need all that research and study when the time comes to meet Him. God is not silent though. It is we that are lacking to perceive His hand upon us.

I feel like getting myself enclosed in a room for 10 days straight for full-time praying and fasting (like the apostles in the upper room), but frustratingly and sadly I just don't have the privacy and the time to do it (I'm burdened with the responsibilities of studying a PhD). I really wish I could.

That is the best thing to do i would say. Many times, I desire the same for another encounter with God but I'm not able to do so for the same reasons. Yet, know that God knows your desire even if you are not able to do it and He honors that. Wait for Him with that hunger and endure with patience, trust and hope. He will surely change your circumstances so that you will be able to spend some alone time with Him, because even God desires that too. It was His desire that He placed in your heart and pulling you towards Him, so He can get to spend some quality time with you. God delights in our waiting, it brings a blessing and the wait will be worth it.

God bless.
 
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Tolworth John

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I just don't understand what's the matter

Nothing is the matter. It is very simple, you do not dictate to God how he reveals himself to you.

You have in the bible all the information you need to be saved.
You labelled yourself as Christian so get involved in your local church and live the Christian life.
 
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Bob Crowley

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Looking at your list, just about everyone on that list seems to have really belonged to the devil at some stage. So they probably needed a strong response by God to turn them to Him, and keep them there.

I don't know what you personal background is, apart from the fact you're studying a heavy load. Hopefully you haven't wallowed in the sort of stuff these people have. It may make for a powerful witness but at the same time I also bet they've done things they regret, including badly hurting other people, some of which damage they may not be able to undo.

What's your motive for wanting an "experience" of God? Simply to say "been there, done that?" If God gives you an experience of Himself, it will be to draw you closer to Himself. But it usually comes at a price. St. Paul might have had incredible experiences, starting with being knocked off his high horse on the way to Damascus, and later being snatched up to the third heaven, where he heard "inexpressible things".

But there was a price. Read Corinthians 11:23-29.

If I were you, I'd put the whole thing on the back burner for the time being, and give it a break. Oh, don't worry, God knows you're there all right. He may be silent, but He knows where you live, what you think, what you say, what you do and what you haven't done. Rest assured.

Meantime just get on with what you should be doing, and that is being a Christian day to day. If you do that, you may just find that you have an experience of God, but if my experience is any guide, it will be right when you don't expect it. And it won't recur on demand either. Your "blessed experience" may then by followed by years of seeming silence.

He's in charge, not you. It will be on His timetable, not yours. And He won't be manipulated, which in a sense is what you're trying to do.

You may well get your "experience", but in the meantime do those things He expects you to do first. How you treat other people will count for a lot when it's all said and done.
 
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venksta

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Do you want the encounter just for your own experience? What is your identity in Christ? Is it to live a happy life, or to be a witness of Jesus, to the lost sheep out in the world, which you have come out off, and now live in the Kingdom of God?

I've had a few encounters with God. I never sought them out, except for the last one, which was an answer to a prayer. When you do experience an encounter, it will be for a grand reason, according to God's own will, not yours. And it will be an empowering experience, to share with others.

In the mean time, have you tried to learn how to listen to God? Hes has a lot to say, but not in the way you will think. Here is a thread I saw last night, that may help you out.

Please share your experiences on hearing God's voice

Also, spend time in God's word, studying the Bible. That is the best place to start, if you want to hear from Him.
 
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splish- splash

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When I came to The Lord, I wasn't seeking for things like unusual encounters at all. In fact, I wasn't really seeking for a proper relationship with God. I actually felt cornered because my physical health was under severe attack. So somehow, I started seeking God's face in the process for my healing, which eventually came through. But before I was healed, a voice told me to seek ye the kingdom of heaven first. For me, this was obviously a divine encounter. I've had plenty encounters to date. But that's because, The Lord prefers it that way.


When The Lord seems silent, I always communicate with Him through His word. Some people are going to get to their old age, without seeing visions, or having had encounters through dreams and whatnot. But that doesn't mean God is not there. God moves in our lives as He sees fit.
 
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Monksailor

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You can fast and pray all you want but if your position in Christ and the condition, motives, and intentions of your heart and if you are married and you aren't honoring your obligations as a husband under God and other things are not as God wants them He will not answer you. HE is not a jeannie in a bottle to conjure up at your bidding or whims. He is Creator and Sustainer and Judge and Eternal Lord of the universe.

"Does God hear the prayers of an unbeliever?" 7 min

"Why are my prayers not answered?" 3 min

Does God answer the prayers of those who don't believe in Jesus Christ?

Why doesn't God seem to answer my prayers?

Secondly, are you really seeking God or some kind of great, amazing, experience that will rouse your emotions? The two are NOT necessarily the same at all and there are many, I believe, who are lead astray by satan who do so. I have experienced it in a church of a well-known denomination. They seek and worship the experiential and emotionally amazing and supernatural manifestations of God while laying aside the relevance, order, and practicality of obedience woven throughout His Word. They seek and yearn for the utopia of a supernatural experience while abandoning the daily quest and admonition to live an ordered and practical and obedient life in Christ. Such focus/obsession only evades and eludes the practical and obedient application of God Word, such as enlightenment> conviction>submission>confession>correction.

A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH GOD SHOULD HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED when you became a Christian. If not, I would go back and analyze the manner of my "salvation" in contrast to God's Word.

It is WONDERFUL that you are seeking THE TRUTH. I am a truth seeker; an Atheist turned Agnostic turned and reborn, solidified Christian. I found THE TRUTH, and THE WAY and THE LIFE, JESUS. Jn 14:6 There is NO other Way to God the Father.
 
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DebbieJ

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For more than 7 months I've been researching the spirit realm. I've watched more than 300 (and counting) testimonies including even full books with hundreds of pages each. Take a look at the testimonies I've watched in this link (work in progress).

I've watched some of the videos in your link. I'd be extra skeptical with those so called healing ministries because most, if not all are fake. They are only there for your money. If they can really heal, how come they don't go to hospitals to heal many sick people and have the nurses and doctors document it? Why no headlines in the news? They could start with COVID patients if they are really genuine. But, we don't see this. They only operate within their Churches with hired actors to fake illnesses, disabilities, and even death. Everything is Hollywood. Don't be lured into their illusion.


They are just testimonies -- all talk. I'm not saying that all of their testimonies are false, all I'm saying is that it needs verification. It easy to write a fairy tale script for t.v. to entertain the viewers.

Sorry to disappoint, but in these last days, it's really hard believing anyone anymore when it comes to this kind of subject. It's really polluted with deceptions.
 
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Albion

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For more than 7 months I've been researching the spirit realm. I've watched more than 300 (and counting) testimonies including even full books with hundreds of pages each.
At the same time, I've been seeking a personal encounter with God all along. Unfortunately, all I receive is silence. The silent treatment.

What can I do?
Do you belong to a church, attend worship regularly, and receive the sacraments?
 
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com7fy8

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Jesus is our way to God, yes.

So, this is personal, not theoretical . . . not trying to figure out what gestures to make to God in order to get Him to do something.

God is not silent, but personal . . . and quiet.

He is already personally communicating with every one of us, one way or the other >

"God resists the proud,
.But gives grace to the humble."

. . . . . .. . . . (in James 4:6, and in 1 Peter 5:5)

When I am getting nasty and wanting foolish pleasures and getting self-righteously angry at people . . . this can be my rebellion to how God is personally communicating with me, by resisting me. And I need how God corrects me so I am sharing with Him and obeying Him in His peace, instead.
 
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TruthSeek3r

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Nothing is the matter. It is very simple, you do not dictate to God how he reveals himself to you.

You have in the bible all the information you need to be saved.

But the Bible promises that God can be encountered:

Jeremiah 29:13
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Proverbs 8:17
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

John 14:23
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

You labelled yourself as Christian so get involved in your local church and live the Christian life.

A little complicated in the midst of a sanitary lockdown. Furthermore, how can I witness to others if I don't have a personal testimony to witness about?
 
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TruthSeek3r

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Sabertooth

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  1. That is good.
  2. a. You need a teacher (that you trust). A new believer doesn't have the experience necessary to teach himself.
    b. Baptism makes a difference.​
  3. Shop for a church after lockdown is lifted. You need to be fed.
 
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Albion

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But the Bible promises that God can be encountered:

Jeremiah 29:13
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Yes, but there's no reason to think you will hear his voice, see signs, or anything of that sort. And there is absolutely no reason to think that God has to "get back with you" as though he needs to let you know that your petition has been approved.

No, I don't have a home church....A little complicated in the midst of a sanitary lockdown. Furthermore, how can I witness to others if I don't have a personal testimony to witness about?
It sounds as though you didn't have a church prior to the recent lockdowns, either, so that would be a good and Biblical way to go. And many churches have managed to hold services--somewhat adapted to circumstances--at the present time anyway.

As for witnessing to others...if you have Faith, you can witness. If you don't have Faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, of course that would prevent witnessing (As you indicated) .
 
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TruthSeek3r

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Looking at your list, just about everyone on that list seems to have really belonged to the devil at some stage. So they probably needed a strong response by God to turn them to Him, and keep them there.

I don't know what you personal background is, apart from the fact you're studying a heavy load. Hopefully you haven't wallowed in the sort of stuff these people have. It may make for a powerful witness but at the same time I also bet they've done things they regret, including badly hurting other people, some of which damage they may not be able to undo.

That's true of a lot of testimonies in the list, but not all. Some people have had powerful testimonies even though they were not involved in the occult or similar stuff:

What's your motive for wanting an "experience" of God? Simply to say "been there, done that?"

Nope. My goal is to know first hand the truth, and to live the rest of my life according to the truth.

If I were you, I'd put the whole thing on the back burner for the time being, and give it a break.

Why?

Meantime just get on with what you should be doing, and that is being a Christian day to day. If you do that, you may just find that you have an experience of God, but if my experience is any guide, it will be right when you don't expect it. And it won't recur on demand either. Your "blessed experience" may then by followed by years of seeming silence.

Being a Christian includes witnessing to others. However, I cannot do that if I don't have a testimony to witness about. Having a personal encounter with God would allow me to have a testimony to witness about.

Furthermore, read this:
Acts 1:7-8
7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

I haven't received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit either. How can I go about witnessing to others if:
  1. I don't have a testimony to witness about and
  2. I haven't received the baptism of the Holy Spirit yet?

He's in charge, not you. It will be on His timetable, not yours. And He won't be manipulated, which in a sense is what you're trying to do.

So are you saying the apostles and disciples in the upper room were manipulating God?

You may well get your "experience", but in the meantime do those things He expects you to do first. How you treat other people will count for a lot when it's all said and done.

Can you enumerate those things?
 
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TruthSeek3r

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Secondly, are you really seeking God or some kind of great, amazing, experience that will rouse your emotions?
I'm seeking a personal encounter with God. Not just knowing theoretically / intellectually about Him, but meeting Him personally.

The two are NOT necessarily the same at all and there are many, I believe, who are lead astray by satan who do so. I have experienced it in a church of a well-known denomination. They seek and worship the experiential and emotionally amazing and supernatural manifestations of God while laying aside the relevance, order, and practicality of obedience woven throughout His Word. They seek and yearn for the utopia of a supernatural experience while abandoning the daily quest and admonition to live an ordered and practical and obedient life in Christ. Such focus/obsession only evades and eludes the practical and obedient application of God Word, such as enlightenment> conviction>submission>confession>correction.

Ok, but you are forgetting a third option: having both experience and obedience. They are not mutually exclusive. Just read the book of Acts, there you have plenty of examples of having both experience and obedience.

A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH GOD SHOULD HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED when you became a Christian. If not, I would go back and analyze the manner of my "salvation" in contrast to God's Word.

Then what about these cases:

Acts 8:12-19
12But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 14Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 18And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, 19Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

Acts 19:1-7
1And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. 4Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7And all the men were about twelve.

It is WONDERFUL that you are seeking THE TRUTH. I am a truth seeker; an Atheist turned Agnostic turned and reborn, solidified Christian. I found THE TRUTH, and THE WAY and THE LIFE, JESUS. Jn 14:6 There is NO other Way to God the Father.

Awesome, I would love to read your testimony. Did you post it somewhere by any chance?
 
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TruthSeek3r

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I've watched some of the videos in your link. I'd be extra skeptical with those so called healing ministries because most, if not all are fake. They are only there for your money. If they can really heal, how come they don't go to hospitals to heal many sick people and have the nurses and doctors document it? Why no headlines in the news? They could start with COVID patients if they are really genuine. But, we don't see this. They only operate within their Churches with hired actors to fake illnesses, disabilities, and even death. Everything is Hollywood. Don't be lured into their illusion.

Just because some cases are frauds it doesn't follow from that that all cases are frauds. That's just a non sequitur fallacy. It's like concluding that all news are fake just because fake news exist. Or like concluding that all humans are soccer players just because soccer players exist.

Btw, most of the videos in the "miracles" subsection pertain to Andres Bissoni's ministry, whose testimony you can watch here. So basically based on what you said you are claiming that Andres Bissoni's ministry is a fraud? That's a strong accusation. Do you have any proof of this?

Furthermore. Have you watched any of the people testifying about miraculous healings happened to them? If someone testifies that they were deaf from birth and now they can hear, or that they were blind for 20 years and now they can see, or that they used to have poor vision but now it has dramatically improved (as in here, here, here and here), or that they had to wear prescription glasses for years due to astigmatism/myopia but now they don't need them anymore (as in here and here), or that they used to have soars on their skin and now they are gone, or that they had scoliosis back pain and now it is gone, or that they had cysts (as in here and here) or nodules which they could feel by touching them and now they are gone, or that they prayed for someone in a hospital and that person got completely healed, or that they were in a wheelchair for months and then got completely healed, or that they had been suffering from dyslexia since childhood but then got healed, would you count them as evidence? Or would you completely disregard them as unreliable? These testimonies cannot be the result of false memories. So the only option left is that they are all lying, but seriously? A lot of these people look sincere, middle class, normal people. And they seem to be openly testifying about what just happened to them. So how can you be so sure that they are all lying?

Moreover, you are expressing concerns about the "miracles" subsection of the spreadsheet. You are completely disregarding all the other sections.

They are just testimonies -- all talk. I'm not saying that all of their testimonies are false, all I'm saying is that it needs verification. It easy to write a fairy tale script for t.v. to entertain the viewers.

Sorry to disappoint, but in these last days, it's really hard believing anyone anymore when it comes to this kind of subject. It's really polluted with deceptions.

Then why would someone create a whole YouTube Channel just to testify of some astonishing experience that happened to them? Channels with just very few subscribers where monetization is clearly not at play. Check out these examples:
These people are testifying about astonishing experiences, and there is no way they are doing it for money with so few views / subscribers.
 
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TruthSeek3r

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As for witnessing to others...if you have Faith, you can witness. If you don't have Faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, of course that would prevent witnessing (As you indicated) .

When you witness, it's because you have first-hand witnessed something that you are witnessing about. However, I cannot do that if I don't have a first-hand testimony to witness about. Having a personal encounter with God would allow me to have such a testimony.


Furthermore, the biblical way of witnessing is with power. Read this:
Acts 1:7-8
7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

I haven't received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit either. So how can you expect me to witness to other people if:
  • I don't have a testimony to witness about and
  • I haven't received the baptism of the Holy Spirit yet?
 
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