God speaks to me...

[TreasureHunter12]

I have often perceived God as light or energy. Not seen with the eye, but felt with the body.

And I've had a few times where during a sermon or prayer, I've felt something come down over me and my consciousness instantly changes, and I feel like I've gained insight into something that previously eluded me. It's hard to put into words, but it's like a switch being flipped. I don't necessarily have any particular intellectual understanding of it, but it does give me a feeling that I know something I did not know previously. And my mind becomes very peaceful, sometimes for hours afterwards.

These experiences are subtle and of course, not something you can measure scientifically. But often, I don't have those sorts of experiences. In fact they are very rare. It doesn't create an unshakable faith for me, but they are hard for me to dismiss, and during troubling times, are probably another reason I don't lose faith altogether.

I call it intuition. Jesus called it the Holy Spirit. Your description matches my experiences of it.

 

[ScottA]

Don't be misled by the title, I'm an atheist, god doesn't speak to me. I am, however, interested in the people that he does speak to. I'm always curious about what they mean when they say that and what god says to them. I'm curious about what people mean when they say they have a "personal relationship" with god...and what this relationship entails.

For some reason though (I won't speculate on what that reason is) people rarely seem to want to share information about their interaction with god. I'd like this thread to be about people's interactions with god...and I'd like it to be without judgement. No questioning whether or not someone is making something up...keep all questions respectful and friendly.

Here's what I'd like you to share...

1. The way that god communicates with you. Is it in a dream, voices, coincidences, thoughts, emotions, etc?

2. What god "said" or what it was that he communicated with you. If it's too personal (perhaps it was about a loss of some kind) just generalize the content of his message. Keep in mind though, I'd like it if you could be as specific and detailed as possible.

3. How did you know it was god? Did he introduce himself? Was it right after you prayed to him? How do you know?

Hopefully, this thread will enable people to share all kinds of things that they wouldn't normally share in a judgement-free environment. I'm looking forward to your replies.

I think perhaps I have already share this with you...but for the sake of the thread:

I had no religious upbringing, no prior knowledge of God, just the tidbits of misunderstood holiday activities, etc. Life was like a fairy tale, all good, and then I was victimized by crime three consecutive times...lost my business, my marriage, even my kids. It doesn't qualify as a dream, but one night at the end of myself, considering that if there was a god, I should talk to him before checking out...so lying in bed, I started taking - and He answered, in what can best be described as an out of body or religious experience. I was caught up into the clouds above the earth and shown my purpose in life, my worth...and then - I popped back into my body with a shock of bewilderment.

Life took a series of turns after that and in about a week I went to live with my brother and his family temporarily. In the room were the put me up was a bible - I was drawn to it, and picked it up and read it from cover to cover, barely stopping for food or sleep. When I did, I was amazed to find that it confirmed my experience, and my experience confirm its writings.

Since then, the words of the bible come alive to me with personal meaning and insight that goes beyond the words. Just as my experience was echoed in the bible and vice versa, the words forever continue to echo the things of everyday life - with connection and purpose. Life has never been the same.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I think perhaps I have already share this with you...but for the sake of the thread:

I had no religious upbringing, no prior knowledge of God, just the tidbits of misunderstood holiday activities, etc. Life was like a fairy tale, all good, and then I was victimized by crime three consecutive times...lost my business, my marriage, even my kids. It doesn't qualify as a dream, but one night at the end of myself, considering that if there was a god, I should talk to him before checking out...so lying in bed, I started taking - and He answered, in what can best be described as an out of body or religious experience. I was caught up into the clouds above the earth and shown my purpose in life, my worth...and then - I popped back into my body with a shock of bewilderment.

Life took a series of turns after that and in about a week I went to live with my brother and his family temporarily. In the room were the put me up was a bible - I was drawn to it, and picked it up and read it from cover to cover, barely stopping for food or sleep. When I did, I was amazed to find that it confirmed my experience, and my experience confirm its writings.

Since then, the words of the bible come alive to me with personal meaning and insight that goes beyond the words. Just as my experience was echoed in the bible and vice versa, the words forever continue to echo the things of everyday life - with connection and purpose. Life has never been the same.

Thanks for sharing this Scott.

 

[TillICollapse]

Cool thread ... and hi Ana

I've given this account before, but thought I would copy/paste it from another thread, here into this one, as I think it's a nice example ... sorry if I take up multiple posts, and also, I believe the annoying "&#8230" is supposed to be "...". Anyways, here's the copy paste:

Back around 2000, my wife (at the time) and I, were living and working in Washington State. We were, at that time, exploring different aspects of Christianity, and it was very much the first time both of us had ever seriously done so. Up to that point, I had lived in various countries around the world, and explored different aspects of people's beliefs and religions … I had my own, very simplified set of beliefs, but by and large "Christianity" wasn't one of the religions I explored in depth. As a child … my father was an atheist/agnostic variety, and my mother was a believer but couldn't stand religion or being told what to think, so nothing was shoved down my throat "belief" wise, and one of the freedoms I had, was the freedom to ask questions, explore anything I could (I had friends from an interesting cross section of cultures). I did explore some things as a child, but it was limited in scope concerning "Christianity". So anyways, in Washington, my wife and I dove in head first, and we started with the "ancient" varieties: Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, etc. From there we branched out into anything else we could come in contact with: Unitarians, Lutherans, Methodist varieties.

One thing we were looking for specifically, were those who claimed to have "the truth", and how that truth held up and reflected in reality. And also … we very much wanted to find a denomination that focussed on helping humanity. Serving the poor, feeding the hungry, helping the oppressed. I had lived as an expat for some time, frequently in dangerous situations … and I wasn't afraid to go to difficult third world countries and give my all. My wife had also lived in some similar situations with me, so we traveled good together, were both willing, etc. So, we weren't just looking for those who would claim to have the "truth" and whether this added up practically in reality, but we also wanted to find ways to join organizations that would put us in hotspots around the world. We were already comfortable living out of a bag, in dangerous situations, and so we thought not only would we be useful in such situations, but we could also make our affinity for that lifestyle count for others in need.

One thing lead to another, and we heard about a missionary organization, which we ended up joining. I'm going to make this part of the story short and get to the point … we ended up working, almost right away, at one of their main "bases" in Hawaii of all places. I mean, we had places like Sierra Leone in mind, the Sudan, Iraq lol … but we ended up in Hawaii.

At this time, we were still very much questioning, exploring, etc. "Willing to try." We didn't want to discount, or discredit someone or something, until we walked it ourselves. So going to Hawaii may not have been what we had in mind, but we were willing to try anything, and that's where we ended up.

Almost immediately upon arriving in Hawaii, we were confronted by a side of Christianity we had never been exposed to yet, and that was the Charismatic/Pentecostal types of individuals. This was something that, in my all life, I had never directly been exposed too. To me, it was the equivalent of something one may see on TV at 4am in the morning: televangelist preachers putting on a dramatic show to swindle people out of money. It was akin to a circus, in my mind, almost to offensive levels. I mean, it offended my intelligence, my sense of, "Do you really think I'm this gullible to by into this sensationalized show ?" as well as my desire to actually *help* people in need. Seeing people "speak in tongues" … was new to me. I had never seen anything like that before, apart from television mockery or television "snake oil". To me, it was no different than the babble of those who may were possessed in horror movies. And the running around, crying in front of others, throwing hands up in the air, constant repetitive prayers … what did ANY of that have to do with the hungry child in the Sudan ? Or the person caught up in the sex trade in Thailand ? Or the genocide taking place in the heart of Africa ? I just didn't see how any of it was relevant, and neither did my wife. And so, from almost moment one … we had almost settled on it being a mistake that we even go to Hawaii in the first place.

By only our third day there, we were seriously considering leaving and throwing in the towel. We had gone all the way there (and used up almost all our resources to do so, which wasn't really new for us … that was part of our lifestyle, but still), and we showed up, and gave it a shot … but it seemingly had nothing to do with "truth". It seemed to have to do with people's personal artistic displays or something, and their confusion about what they could agree upon. Again, we wanted to serve those in desperate need, while finding out the "truth" about God, Jesus, Christianity in general, etc.

Well, it was the third morning or so … when before my work day started (as I said, I worked for this base, literally) my boss gathered some of us who worked there together for a "prayer meeting". There was about 6-8 of us maybe ? A small group in other words. They all knew each other, I was the new person. Anyways, they began to sing songs, close their eyes, sway back and forth and pray … and some of them began to "pray in tongues". The incoherent version, where people "babble". In fact, one of them said, "We all pray in tongues in here, right ? Let's do it …" and they just went into it.

At that, I was sitting there and I was more uncomfortable than I had been in a long time. And I had been in some situations already in my life involving war zones, etc … but this, I felt foolish, like I was wasting my time. And I was angry … if THIS is what "God" was about to these people, I didn't want to waste my time doing whatever-they-were-doing. There were people in need out there, and I was interested in helping them. Not sitting around and babbling and patting each other on the back while debating who was right and wrong.

I was angry at myself, and frustrated with the situation, and with them for assuming I was going to "speak in tongues" like them. I wasn't a rube, nor easily fooled, and I certainly wasn't going to put forth effort to fake something.

I was one second away from just getting up and walking out on them all, going to find my wife and telling her, "Look, can we please just get out of this insanity ? I'm not interested in joining a cult to find the truth or help people, and I can't tell if this is a cult or just people who eat too many cocoa puffs …". I mean, it was also my own attitude. If that was the attitude I was going to have towards them, what possible benefit would I even be to THEM ? Did they really need someone who was thinking these things about them, working for them ? I didn't want to be a jerk to *them*. It just seemed like a win/win if I just left and started with that prayer meeting right there.

But then I remember thinking to myself, "If I actually am correct, that they are not anywhere near to knowing the "truth about God" and they are way off course, then I need to learn to deal with it. I need to learn to care about these people too, not just the ones starving and in pain and in need. I need to care about ALL people, including these, and so I need to adjust if I'm going to learn the truth about EVERYTHING."

And that's when one of the people in the group, looked up at me, and to my shock and surprise said this to me:

"I see a big question mark over your head. Like, a question mark. I think that God wants you to ask Him something. Almost like He's daring you to." And she said it with a smile, and then went back to closing her eyes and the rest of the group was just "talking in tongues" and singing songs and praying.

All of that, was the build-up and context for this:

After she said that, I remember thinking, "How dare her call me out, when she should already be able to clearly see that I'm not into what they are doing," … when almost immediately, I began to experience something.

I began to get extremely hot. Like, there was a fire inside of me, except that it was accompanied by something: what felt like a wind. I literally began to feel like a hot, fiery wind began to blow into me. It's hard to describe … I had felt this to some degree one time before in my life many years earlier (that's another story), but this was like that time, times 10. I could feel my own temperature rising, I was sure my face was flush, and this strong, fiery wind … it was like it was filling me. As if someone was breathing into your lungs for you, except it wasn't just your lungs that was filling with the wind, it was your entire body.

And I began to cry. I don't know why … whatever it was I was feeling, was like … effecting me physically, almost to an overwhelming state … and my response was to cry, from the overwhelming effect it was having on my body.

I tried to stop it, to focus, and I began to wonder, "What the bleep is happening to me ?" but I couldn't control it, or stop it. It didn't feel "bad" to me … I wasn't in pain, I was just overwhelmed, and the fiery wind … it was unique.

I couldn't believe I was sitting there crying, going through this all of a sudden … and that's when I heard the following:

My mind began to pick up a voice. It wasn't the same as when you "tall to yourself" in your own mind, nor was it with audible ears. It was more like an in-between … not in the place where one focusses mentally and can have a conversation with themselves lol, but "outside of it" And the voice said, in a friendly manner, "Ask me something. Anything, just go ahead and ask me …" and I could very clearly tell that it was … almost jovial.

This voice became clearer and clearer, and my mind cleared out almost with a clarity one gets similar to when they're "in the zone". And the voice kept saying it, over and over.

cont ...

 

[TillICollapse]

At this, I began to wonder if I was being manipulated somehow … or perhaps if I was now going crazy. I was still sitting there, feeling hot and on fire, I was certain my face was beet red, I was crying, probably sweating a bit … and no one around me seemed to care or even take that much of a notice. And now, what seemed like in response to this person in the prayer meeting saying, "God wants you to ask Him something, He's daring you …" … I suddenly "hear a voice " that is basically saying to ask it something ? People who heard voices were *delusional*. Was I not delusional and one of "those people" ? I prided myself in my intellect and ability to think on my feet in difficult situations, to keep a calm head, to not be easily manipulated. I was willing to try things and explore things, but hearing voices ?

I tried to ignore the voice, and stop it … thinking that if I could "get control" of myself, then it would stop, I would return to normal, and I could assess things further. Perhaps I was getting caught up in the prayer meeting in a way I hadn't anticipated ? But that didn't make sense to me … I was AGAINST what was happening. I didn't agree with any of it. I wasn't secretly wanting to participate, I wanted OUT. I wasn't even pretending to do what the others were doing when this started to happen, so what was it ?

After a few minutes of trying this technique, nothing changed … the voice still there, the "fiery wind" still in me, filling me … that's how I would describe it.

So since it wouldn't go away, and I examined myself and I still seemed to have my faculties to the degree where I wasn't hurting myself or others … I decided to ask the voice a question.

"Okay, lets say this is "God". If this voice isn't just in my imagination, and this is God, since it won't go away, I'll ask something."

Well, from where I was sitting, we were on a second or third floor of a building where we could see the ocean rather easily. So I decided to go big or go home … cut through the nonsense and get right to the point.

"If this is God, then please part the ocean I'm looking at."

And at that, the voice insinuated without words … I don't know how to describe it, almost like I was being told just, without words, "Don't ask something that proves whether or not I'm real."

At that, my heart sank. I felt very foolish. I thought, for sure, that the voice was now just something in my imagination, and I was a fool for even trying it and going along with it. I was told to ask, I did, and the result was no ocean parted, and basically "denied". It was bogus, a mind trick of some kind I had become susceptible too, something like that. But God ? No.

Yet the voice said, "Ask something else. Go ahead. Ask."

And I tried again to stop the experience from happening. To put an end to it. I was sure I was now "making it all up", though I couldn't tell why or for what purpose. But I had enough of my faculties to think as much.

Yet after a minute or so, the voice still wouldn't stop, the fiery wind, still there. So I decided, "Since it's not stopping, okay, I'll give the benefit of the doubt, and ask again something else."

This time I thought about my own needs. My wife and I were desperately low on funds. If the organization didn't work out, we wouldn't even be able to leave Hawaii. And we didn't want to end up homeless there. So I said, "If this is God, we need money."

And to that, I got a similar response like before … I was "told" this information, without words, like, "You're taken care of," like I didn't need to ask for that … I was either going to be taken care of at that time, or always. But, it was like a … pointless thing to ask.

To which my response was even more, "I am making this up. I HAVE to be. I've asked two things now, both of which were denied."

I do remember being shocked a bit at my own selfishness to ask for money and resources. The first thing I asked … to see the ocean parted, I could understand wanting to see such an even take place. I mean, who really doesn't want to see something so mind blowing and fantastical as that ? We make movies about the stuff, and plus Moses did something along those lines, yes ? So I thought that was perfectly in line with what I knew at that time about "God". The money … I felt a little selfish, but I was honest. We needed resources, I was concerned and worried. I wasn't just looking out for me now … there were two of us.

So I again decided I was making it all up. But still, the voice wouldn't leave, the wind/fire still there.

So I gave in one more time. I thought to myself, "Okay let me think about this. If I were going to do a "Christian" thing, I'd ask something for someone else. So let me think."

Well, there was this guy that the people in the group were praying for … lets say his name was "Kevin" (for the sake of the story). Kevin apparently had cancer, because they kept praying for him to be healed of his cancer. I didn't know who Kevin was, I just knew his name because of these people. So I thought to myself, "Hmm …. maybe I can ask to pray for Kevin to be healed." See, at that time, whenever I did pray, I NEVER asked for things like that. I didn't ask for people to be healed, or anything like that. I didn't "pray for countries". Nothing. My philosophy, was that if there was a God, He already knew all of that anyways. What I needed to know, was what *I* was to do. What was *I* supposed to do on earth, today, right now ? God knew all of that. So asking God things like, "Please help us, help heal us," etc … if God wanted to heal someone, He would have already. And I wasn't even sure if God could do such things anyways. So to be sitting there asking God ANYTHING was against even my own philosophy and concept of who God may or may not be.

So I asked the voice, if I could pray for Kevin to be healed.

At that … the voice said, "You may ask for that," and then suddenly the voice parted, and I began to see an image in it's place. It wasn't in the normal place one envisions things in their mind, rather, it was in that "in-between" place. Not with my physical eyes, but not in my mental construct zone either. It was like a "vision" … and I saw quite clearly the following:

I was kneeling down, besides a bed with a man sleeping on it. It was a specific bed, with specific sheets and blankets … every color of every piece of furniture, sheet, cloth, etc … in the room I could see every color and detail, and pattern, and position of everything. And I was kneeling down by this bed, praying. And in the room, there was like a long sliding glass door or window, with these long pastel pink curtains draped to the floor. And there in the window, was the shining of the dying sun as it was setting, right in the part of the curtains that covered the glass. And in the room with me, were two people … but they weren't there like I was there. They were almost like wispy .. "ghostly". One of them was a guy I worked with, named Joe, the other was a girl I had seen on the base but wasn't that familiar with. The guy, was more solid than the girl, but still wispy. The girl was extremely wispy … and ended up disappearing in the scene I was looking at. I was the only truly solid figure there.

This vision sort of got "seared" into my minds eye, so to speak, as I looked at each detail.

And once I had finished getting it … downloaded, is almost like the word I would use … that's when the experience finally stopped. The heat in my body started to return to normal, and die down … I could feel the "wind" no longer blowing. The fire subsided. The voice left, and the place the voice seemed to "fill", it like … closed. Like a part of yourself sort of, closing back up, like a shell. And I returned to normal. I stopped crying, I could feel myself relax, etc. The thing that "remained", was like … something got flipped on in me. Like a switch. And the fire, there was still something there, like a "candle". A small fire. I didn't know how else to describe it. But when everything stopped, and everything returned to normal … if people had on/off switches within them in some metaphorical capacity, something in me was switched "on" and I could tell. And the candle like feeling, was there.

I don't know how long all of this took. At the end of the prayer meeting, I still noticed no one had even seemed to notice anything about me, my tears, nothing. At the end of the meeting, I asked to be excused before starting work … I wanted to go tell my wife what happened, and to ask her what she thought … was I crazy ? Or did what just happen to me have ANY validity behind it ? I remember telling her all about it, and out of nowhere, I used a phrase I never used before and didn't know what it meant. If I got the phrase from someone subconsciously, okay, but I don't know when or where I would have gotten this phrase from. I said to her, "I think maybe, if this was real, that I was "filled with the Holy Spirit ?" … again, I have no idea where I got that phrase from. Did I recall it from some memory shelf of mine ? Perhaps. But I was ignorant of the Bible … in fact I basically stole a Bible at that base and it became the first Bible I ever read in depth. I don't ever recall being taught about "Holy Spirit", as my exposure was still limited to the denominations and whatnot that focussed on "the Holy Spirit" and Christianese speak along those lines. Again … Charismatic/Pentecostal was as foreign to me as Greek the first time I heard it spoken. I had no prior expectations, conceptions, or even knowledge for that matter. But I used that phrase.

I could provide a LOT more context here, but I wanted to include the details of the experience itself, before I get to the validation of it. If I provided even more context, it would definitely make the story more interesting … but to save walls of text and space, I'll skip to the details to sum it up.

So to make a longer story shorter … I told my wife everything that happened, and I *wrote it down*. The details, the voice, the vision, everything. That same day, I tracked down the two people I had seen in my "vision", and I wanted their input. Was this something that was common for Christians to experience ? Was I crazy lol ? What was their opinion ? I wanted to know if what I had experienced was all in my imagination, or had any validity to it. It was over now, so the experience itself had ceased … NOW I could explore it. Dissect it. See if I had had a little psychotic episode of some sort lol, or if something else was going on. Maybe I had been influenced by the people in that meeting in some manner ? I didn't know.

So I found these two people, told them, and got their input.

The girl, looked at me like I was crazy lol. She actually got angry … I didn't know it, but she was having a sort of emo existential crises at the time, and was in rebellion against "life" in general. Me telling her this, was like, icing on a cake for her to just make her more upset. "Why would God give a stranger a vision about me ?" She wasn't shocked, she was upset and angry. She didn't really want to give me an opinion on whether or not she thought I was crazy, legit, or what … she kept making it focussed on her. I wanted to know if it was real and what was true, not just my own mental state. But she kept turning it back on herself in some way. Long story short, within a couple of weeks, she would be kicked off the base for her conduct. I would never see her again, to my knowledge.

The guy … was a slightly different story. He told me he wasn't sure if my experience was real or not, BUT he had a story to tell. He was a native to Hawaii, and was working on his father's ranch one day during a storm. He said he was outside, when suddenly lightening (or something like lightening, I can't remember) stuck him. He said he didn't fall down, or get harmed … but he started to see his hands glow a green color, and he heard a voice tell him, "You are called to be a healer," or something to that effect. He said that is why he was at the base … because he wanted to learn about God, and the voice he heard, and what happened to him. He said that people in his dad's church decided to help send him to this base there to learn more, and see if he had the "gift". I can't remember, but I think he said he needed to do it first or something, before he could use the gift and heal. Something to that effect.

He didn't claim one thing over another about my vision, but I told him, "Well, there's only one way to find out if the vision was real: find this Kevin's house, and go see for myself." and he said he was in agreement with me.

So I went back to the leaders, and before telling them about my vision and experience and the voice, etc … I asked them about Kevin. I had assumed, that what I had seen in this vision … if it was real … was his house or something. And that I could easily tell if the vision was real, by simply going to his house and verifying the details I saw. Everything should match, I could pray for him, etc. Well, I found out Kevin … didn't live in Hawaii. He lived on the mainland. Not only that, but it was in the middle of the mainland … Michigan.

cont one more time ...

 

[TillICollapse]

At this … my heart sank. Again, I began to feel like a crazy person. I was exploring a rabbit trail, that would be a dead end. Michigan ? I was in Hawaii lol, and barely had enough money to eat dinner for a week. How was I going to afford to go to Michigan to see if I had "heard the voice of God" ? It all began to sound even more crazy to me know. Not only was I considering imposing myself on some stranger's family while he was possibly DYING, but now I was considering trying to find a way to fly OUT of Hawaii to Michigan ?

I decided to tell some more people about the experience. I wanted more input. To my surprise, none of the people I told who were believers, none of them said, "Yes you heard God." A few of them said "Maybe," some thought I had gotten caught up in the moment or something. "You wanted it to happen." Still, none of those who presented themselves as "experts" seemingly, could tell me one way or another. All of these people who, as I noticed over the next couple of weeks, talked about God this and God that, couldn't even tell me simply if I had heard God or not lol.

And I told those people, whom I shared my experience with, the details. I did this, just in case, by some strange happenstance … that I could still have it verified somehow. That way, the details would be written down in advance, prior to anything I could possibly have fabricated myself. And, no one would have to take just my word for it. They could see the details written down. I wouldn't have a chance to change them if my memory changed, or be accused of retrofitting some explanation. The details would either match, or they wouldn't.

I also told some other people who weren't believers, to get their input, to see what they thought. All in all, no one could say "Yes you heard God."

Months went by … and during that time, I almost completely forgot about the experience, to be honest. I got caught up in things at the base, living in Hawaii, etc and so forth. My attitude changed towards the people at the base radically, and I explored sides of Christinaity I never had even realized were out there. I didn't agree with half of what I saw lol, but my attitude changed, and I was now more willing to learn and give things a chance. After all, legit or not, I DID have the experience that I did. If it was real, then perhaps there was something to be understood by this "circus" after all ? And if it wasn't "real" and was just the product of my imagination, then I still was no better than anyone there at discerning such things, because I had somehow fallen pray to similar delusional thinking. So who was I to judge either way now ? Plus, a LOT of things happened at that base … all context which I'll spare, but important context nonetheless.

Anyways, after a couple of months of being there, an opportunity to work at a base in Germany came up. We had made some money there in strange ways … random people would often come up to us and say things like, "God told me to give you this," or "God wants me to give you this," or "I want to give you this because I want a blessing." lol. It wasn't our style to take money from people, and we didn't ask for it … but we were trying things their way, differently, etc, so we took it. And so we actually had enough money to fly to Germany, after it was all said and done. Just enough.

A couple of days before our flight out, I had remembered the vision/experience/etc. I had, as I said, almost forgotten about it. The first few weeks after it happened, it was my main focus. I was almost obsessed with dissecting it. But I had moved on, and now I was remembering it.

I thought about it for a moment, and I thought, "Ha. I wonder if I could somehow get a layover in Michigan and still somehow find out if there was any validity to it at ALL ?" and so, for fun, I called the airline, asked how much it would cost to change our tickets with a layover like that. It was going to cost like 2-3$ extra or something, not just to change the tickets but also because we'd need to rent a car to drive there from the airport ! (I had found out where his city was). A couple of hundred more than we had. So that was out of the question. I mean, even if I wanted to … we couldn't afford it.

And besides, I didn't even know if Kevin was still ALIVE for that matter ? Maybe he had passed already ? So I asked around … he was still alive. Still in Michigan.

But over the last couple of months, IF it was really of "God", would I have almost forgotten it like that ? Wouldn't it have stayed front and center in my mind until I "obeyed" and did the thing ? And plus, where was the money for the flight ? Nothing seemed to make sense. The thing that made sense, was that it was most likely just imaginative thinking. And if nothing else, it helped to change my attitude towards others there. I was less critical, more open to ideas and importantly … open to them.

Well, the next morning came around, and we had like, 24 hours or so before flying out or something. And we were checking our mail … and lo and behold, we found a letter that had fallen to the bottom of the pile. Had been there for a couple of weeks, and we had missed it. We opened it up, it was from someone at the base we had come in contact with who was only there a short time.

It was a random check from them, for $200 or something. I can't remember exactly how much, it may have been $300. Regardless, it was the amount we needed to convert the tickets, rent the car, etc. So suddenly, there at the zero hour … something I had all but forgotten, was now a possibility.

Did I really want to go through with it ? I had this simple rule of thumb I often lived by: "If I don't do this thing, will I live with a regret having not tried it ?"

I thought about it … and realized that if I didn't go and see for myself, I would have a regret. I would always wonder, "What if". What if I had gone to Michigan ? What if the voice was real and not just imaginary ? What if ? There was seemingly only one way to find out, and that way had just opened up before me. It wasn't an easy red carpet to walk … I still had to be willing to look like a fool, use up our resources, etc … but it was there.

I asked my wife, she said it was okay … we got the phone number of Kevin's home, called his wife, introduced myself to her, told her where I was and that I knew her husbands friends, and simply that I wanted to go and pray for her husband. She said it was okay. We called the airline, changed the tickets .. and bam. We now had a day layover in Michigan.

We got to Michigan, and our plane was delayed on the runway for like, two hours. We just sat there, unable to move, and we were losing time. One of the key elements to my "vision", was the sun: it's position in the window, the way it illuminated the curtains, etc. The way things were going, we wouldn't even get to this guy's house before dark. Plus, it was overcast. Cloudy sky. No sun. So already, things were looking like my "vision" was bogus, yet again.

We get out of the plane finally, get to the car rental, and head that direction. I'm feeling stupid. The sky is gray, we are losing daylight hours, and I feel NOTHING but fear, foolish, etc. No wind and fire. No voice. No confidence even. No peace. Nervous. Afraid. Worried I'm imposing on a family for my own need to not have regrets. I thought I was supposed to "feel peace" ? Feel clarity ? I had a million questions, confusion, etc.

We arrive … there is still some day left, but the clouds are still there. No sun. There was maybe 20 mintues left of daytime ? But it was gloomy outside. I'm bracing for my disappointment and shame. We knock on the door, his wife answers … we introduce ourselves in person now, go inside and talk a bit with her.

Kevin is sleeping in his room … after some brief chit-chat, she asks if I want to go pray for him now. I say yes.

So I get up, and go to his door, and open it, all by myself.

I open his door, and it's like opening a door into another world. There before me, was every single thing I had seen in my vision. Every detail, as I wrote it down, right there. Him, in his bed, the color of the sheets and comforter, the position of the furniture in the room and what was there and what wasn't … and there, just as I had seen, was the long sliding glass door like windows, with the long pink curtains.

And they were illumined by the dying sun, which had now peaked out from the clouds, and I could see it clearly, almost like the sun were winking through the clouds.

I began to shake … from fear, and overwhelming. I had one other experience in my life which had that effect on me, something that violated my sense of "reality" in such a way, it left me afraid. Like, life wasn't controlled like I had thought. Reality had elements that were beyond my ability to understand and control. This was similar to that moment, except magnified. I felt surreal, like what was happening wasn't supposed to be happening. It wasn't SUPPOSED to be REAL lol. It was supposed to be all a mental construct, imaginative thinking. And I heard the voice come back, and this time no fire … just a little bit of that "wind". And the voice said, "Well done." and I stood there, just shaking from fear. I literally couldn't believe my eyes.

I also interestingly had this thought lol: "I am now one of those people, who are going to tell this story and people are going to think I'm making it up, or delusional, because it involves hearing a voice I thought was God." I actually stood there and thought that. And it made me feel strange, because I had never been "one of those people" before. I could always rationalize things easily. But this, I couldn't rationalize. For all intent and purposes, as far as I could tell in that moment, I heard God and received a vision of a detailed moment in time that there was no way I could have known, or predicted. Yet here I was. I knelt by his bed, and prayed a simple prayer. "God please heal Kevin." and then I got up, and left the room.

There's a bit more to this story about what happened next, which would provide even more context, but I like this story because it has a lot of elements going on. Now, if you look at the bare bones of all I just accounted … the bare bones don't necessarily prove that "God is real" or any of the other elements involved. I've known people who would think that the story proves tongues are real, Christianity is true, Charismatics/Pentecostals have it all correct, God speaks to people, etc and so forth. But the intellectually honest skeptic, could look at the individual elements and come to different conclusions. I realize that, and I'm not claiming one thing over another, other than what I said happened. I may have gotten a minor detail or two wrong, given memory recall and whatnot, however the main crux is there. I have one other example I could throw out there, but I've taken up enough thread real estate for the moment.

 

[Neogaia777]

Don't be misled by the title, I'm an atheist, god doesn't speak to me. I am, however, interested in the people that he does speak to. I'm always curious about what they mean when they say that and what god says to them. I'm curious about what people mean when they say they have a "personal relationship" with god...and what this relationship entails.

For some reason though (I won't speculate on what that reason is) people rarely seem to want to share information about their interaction with god. I'd like this thread to be about people's interactions with god...and I'd like it to be without judgement. No questioning whether or not someone is making something up...keep all questions respectful and friendly.

Here's what I'd like you to share...

1. The way that god communicates with you. Is it in a dream, voices, coincidences, thoughts, emotions, etc?

All of the above... Also through nature, signs and wonders, things and people and animals in my environment around me...

2. What god "said" or what it was that he communicated with you. If it's too personal (perhaps it was about a loss of some kind) just generalize the content of his message. Keep in mind though, I'd like it if you could be as specific and detailed as possible.

I heard his audible voice once, I was also hearing the voices of demons, when I heard his voice, it was after I was praying very desperately about these other voices, which were a bulling abusive crowd or bunch that were/stayed at a moderate distance, the voice I heard right next to me, I jumped when I heard it... It was commanding an authoritative and it spoke to the others, after I prayed and it told them to "GO!" and they left and were gone for a long time after hearing them almost everyday, several times a day... Now, I talk to him audibly, and he speaks to my heart and mind, and brings things to me...

One example of this is, and how I know it is him, is that... I've read my Bible several times, but can't memorize anything, and can't recall scriptures when "I" try to, but, when someone else speaks to me, or I am speaking to someone else, I just seem to automatically "have" what scriptures or any information that I once learned, but have no recall of, when "I" am trying with my own will to recall it, Anyways, I just seem to have what I need every time, at the time I need it... I know "I" can't and don't do this on my own, if "I" am trying, I can't... I believe this is one way he speaks to me... It is a reward for talking to and having a personal relationship with him...

3. How did you know it was god? Did he introduce himself? Was it right after you prayed to him? How do you know?

Hopefully, this thread will enable people to share all kinds of things that they wouldn't normally share in a judgement-free environment. I'm looking forward to your replies.

Another thing is that I am now convinced that he speaks to us all, whether we know it, or are attuned, or tuned in, to being able to listen to, or hear him, or not... I am now convinced that every "great idea", every or anything "profound" or any innovation, or dream or vision of man that became real or true, is actually "from God" not us... I think the founding fathers of this nation did not come up with the documents they did, without "help", I believe they were "inspired" by God, through them... I believe they were able to come up with what they did, because of God working through them, and he (God) helped them because they believed in him, and humbled themselves before him...

I came to know this after some of the things I myself started coming up with, in the process of growing in my relationship with him... I am now fully convinced that they are "not mine" but are inspired by a supernatural source, from God, in other words... I cannot possibly know or come to know these things on my own or of my own self, but, I am convinced that he is giving them to me, that he is working through me, that even everything I have now, is not even mine or me now, but is actually him...

Anyways,

God Bless!

 

[Archie the Preacher]

I corresponded with another atheist or two about this a month or so ago. I've since lost track of the discussion. One of the two was "Bandersnatch" (frumptuous, I think) and the other was Ama- something and it fades.

The question they asked me - and I could not to my satisfaction explain - was 'How did I know it was God speaking to me?' All I could tell them was one has to experience it to recognize it. I regret not having more.

Something has since occurred to me, and it's as close as I can get. The experience and recognition part is still intact. But I realize I begin - 'began' for me, it started some time ago - to recognize "His voice" in the same way one recognizes an artist or musician; by the 'style' or 'signature' involved. Obviously, this requires 'seeing' various paintings, and 'hearing' various musicians, 'hearing' various speaker's voices and so forth. Likewise, one must 'hear' God's voice for a bit to accustom one's self.

That still isn't convincing to one who hasn't been through it. I understand that. However, I have no mathematical formula nor experiment to demonstrate it; it's all I've got.

 

[Trichakra]

I am shocked...

 

[Neogaia777]

The man (God or spirit) in the mirror (of self-reflection)...

There is someone or something else there, whether you are or choose to become actively "aware" of it or not...

I remember from a favorite Star Trek episode of mine, Counselor Troi is talking to Captain Picard, and she says to him "Well, at first I thought (what she sensed or read about an alien species), She said to him, "Well, at first I thought it was the same sense of "duality" we sense in all of you humans..." Picard says, "What do you mean?" Then she says "Well, when you ask yourself a question or are making a decision (or thinking about or pondering anything), "who" are you "talking" to...?"

The "duality" that she points out to him and the questions she asks him about it, he cannot answer, but, I think the answer is "God" or a or our "spirit" in, inside of us... You have to wonder and possibly admit and not deny that "someone" or "something" is on the "other side" of that conversation, don't you...?

God Bless!

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

Bump

Hello there ill talk to you..

For me, my relationship with God is usually through dreams and the very scare moments I have "heard" God speak to me, it was my inner voice..my thoughts. God speaking wont be audible BC God is a God of order not chaos...or craziness.

For me, I know God is speaking to me when , lets say, my mind is just racing( I have anxiety) and I get another thought, that is not only calming but scripture as well.

Another way I know its God is that, its impossible to think about two things at the same time, if you want you can try ( list your favorite songs and foods at the same time...its impossible)

That's not to say I just just hear a string of things God is saying, usually its just word or short phase, its so soft and subtle I might miss it..

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

I remember many answers to prayer! Here's one that is not easy to dismiss as coincidence: I was fifteen and for the first time my Dad had invited me to go deer hunting with him. He wasn't a sport hunter but being a poor country preacher needed the venison to feed his family of eight. Anyway, I was very eager to go with him. The evening before we were to go on the hunt, my Dad gets a phone call from the man on whose land we'd be hunting. The man informs my Dad that provincial rules stipulate that both my Dad and I have to be dressed in red or neon orange coveralls. We had bright orange caps and vests but apparently that wasn't sufficient. Fortunately, my Dad had a pair of red coveralls, but there wasn't a second pair. I wasn't going to be able to hunt with my Dad the next morning. My Dad apologized for disappointing me but he hadn't had any idea coveralls were necessary. This was over thirty years ago in a rural community so there wasn't any just jumping into the car and going to WalMart to fix the problem. Every store was closed by 5:30 pm except the 7-11 (and they didn't sell coveralls). No one we knew had a set of red or orange coveralls, either. So, for me the hunt was a bust. I felt very put-out. So much so that my Dad finally approached me and asked me if I'd talked to God about the situation. The question surprised me. Why would I talk to God about a pair of coveralls? My Dad responded, "Why would you not?" So, I prayed and asked God to provide a pair of coveralls. It seemed a bit silly to me at the time to talk to God about something so mundane and ultimately unnecessary, but my Dad had assured me that my Heavenly Father wanted me to talk to Him about everything and delighted in doing good things for His children. Some time later I was reminded that I hadn't taken out the garbage. It was one of my daily chores, you see. I grabbed the garbage bags and made a dash for the back lane where our garbage cans stood. It was very cold and snowy. I hadn't put on a coat so my plan was to toss the bags in the can and run back to the house as quick as possible. But as I turned away from the cans to go back inside my eye caught sight of something embedded just a few feet from me in the frozen mud, ice and snow of the back lane. It was cold and dark outside and there was no good reason to stop to look at what it was, but I did anyway. I kicked at it with my boot and then began to tug on it. In short order I had pulled a dirty, frozen pair of ---- yes, that's right --- red coveralls from the muck of the back lane. They had been almost completely buried beneath mud and snow which meant they had been there for several days. I took the coveralls inside and showed my Dad. He was nearly as surprised and excited as I was! We thanked God for His provision, washed the coveralls, and went hunting together the next morning.

There have been countless times when I have lost track of keys or some other item and have searched everywhere for them fruitlessly until I stopped to ask God to show me where they were. Again, and again, and again as soon as I do this, in short order I find what I'm looking for.

When I had finished university and was looking for a job, I spent almost three years without regular employment. I would pick up an odd job here and there but despite sending out many hundreds of resumes and having many interviews, I could never land steady, full-time employment. Finally, the day came when I had no food in my cupboards or fridge and no money to pay rent. I was very desperate. I prayed and challenged God to provide for me as He had promised. I told Him I needed a job by the next day and if He was the God He said in His word that He was, He would provide a job for me before then. Within the following hour two job offers for which I had not applied were made to me by phone. And the course of events leading to the job offers was very odd. Somebody knew somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody who knew me. I took the second job, which ended up being one of the best jobs I've ever had.

My brother had just got a job but needed a car to get to it. It was too far to walk or bicycle and the transit system did not travel to his workplace or anywhere near it. So, trusting God had provided the job, my brother asked God for a vehicle with which to get to it. He needed it by the next morning. Believing if God knew his need no one else needed to know, My brother said nothing to anyone about it. The next morning my brother prepared to go to work. As he did, a stranger drove up to the house and dropped off a set of car keys. The man explained that God had told him to give his spare car to my brother. And then he left. Praising God, my brother drove off to work a few minutes later.

I remember early in my marriage coming to a serious point of conflict with my wife. We were at an impasse relationally and I knew if it didn't get sorted out, our marriage would suffer heavy damage. I had tried everything I knew to do to communicate well with my wife but the relational log-jam would not budge. So, I finally did what I should have done at the start and asked God to direct me in how to sort out the problem. Of course, I thought the solution would be that somehow God would change my wife, but instead God began to convict me about my own thinking and behaviour. Ooh, that was tough! I did not want to look at myself in the mirror my wife was holding up to me! I wasn't the problem; she was! But God was relentless in His answer to my prayer. The thought continued to replay in mind, "You want to see changes in your wife? Make the same changes in yourself first!" Protest and self-justification were my initial responses! I just couldn't admit that I was the person my wife was saying that I was. Man, I was angry! But God was working in me. He did what only He could do and in the midst of my angry self-justification and pride He began to soften my heart. It took about twenty minutes before I could just lay it all down before God and humbly and sincerely apologize to my wife for my angry behaviour and admit there were things I needed to change. As soon as I did, she burst into tears and began to apologize and admit she needed to change, too! The log-jam dissolved and we held each other and thanked God for being the Wonderful Counsellor to us His word says that He is.

I could write a book about how God has walked with me through my life. Maybe some day I will. The above anecdotes are just the first few that rose up in my mind.

Selah.

Wow that is 100% God... That's so amazing , I love to hear how God provides for his people ...its encouraging. Great testimony
I'm just smiling at the provision, especially your brother's..a stranger gave his car keys to your brother BC god told him to , nothing short of amazing ... id love to read that book someday

 

[Uber Genius]

Don't be misled by the title, I'm an atheist, god doesn't speak to me. I am, however, interested in the people that he does speak to. I'm always curious about what they mean when they say that and what god says to them. I'm curious about what people mean when they say they have a "personal relationship" with god...and what this relationship entails.

For some reason though (I won't speculate on what that reason is) people rarely seem to want to share information about their interaction with god. I'd like this thread to be about people's interactions with god...and I'd like it to be without judgement. No questioning whether or not someone is making something up...keep all questions respectful and friendly.

Here's what I'd like you to share...

1. The way that god communicates with you. Is it in a dream, voices, coincidences, thoughts, emotions, etc?

2. What god "said" or what it was that he communicated with you. If it's too personal (perhaps it was about a loss of some kind) just generalize the content of his message. Keep in mind though, I'd like it if you could be as specific and detailed as possible.

3. How did you know it was god? Did he introduce himself? Was it right after you prayed to him? How do you know?

Hopefully, this thread will enable people to share all kinds of things that they wouldn't normally share in a judgement-free environment. I'm looking forward to your replies.

Recently I was going to meet a friend at a bar. I showed up and had this idea that my friend wasn't even a Christian, even though he claimed to be and no evidence to the contrary has surfaced. I thought, "if that is true, then why am I here to encourage a brother, who isn't actually a brother?" The answer came back as a thought, "Your not, your here to have a conversation with a bar tender."

Within a couple minutes the bar-tender approached but was clearly not a fan of the guy I was with. After a meal and a couple drinks the bartender was not showing any signs of interest or the slightest conversation. As my friend walked out of the bar to grab a quick smoke, I sat inside reflecting how I had made all this crap up in my head and must have early onset dementia thinking I was hearing from God and all. I said, "Lord there is no way that this bar tender will talk to me...this plan was a bust." Again I imagined him saying I created the universe and you don't trust that I can fix this little thing." Before I answered my friend came in from his smoke-break and said his wife had called and he needed to go immediately. 30 seconds after he left I felt someone brush up against me on the bar stool. You guessed it, the bartender said he had been let off early and wanted to join me in a scotch. We spent the next two hour talking about God. He brought it up. He was an atheist but said he felt strangely like talking.

There is no story of conversion, and although I have been back several times he has not been working that shift. But He claimed it was perhaps the single most transparent and helpful conversation about God and the possibility of his existence he had participated in in over a decade.

Because I'm not worried about looking foolish I respond to these thoughts. Often times they are amazingly specific, including people's names, traumatic events in their past, occasionally things that are about to happen in people's lives that are in my men's group or home group. Sometimes strangers. Most of my Christian friends say they have never heard a thing. Some say they have weak impressions. I have never heard an audible voice but I'm willing to trust and respond to the thoughts and impressions I take to be God, at least until they lock me up for dementia.

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

I think perhaps I have already share this with you...but for the sake of the thread:

I had no religious upbringing, no prior knowledge of God, just the tidbits of misunderstood holiday activities, etc. Life was like a fairy tale, all good, and then I was victimized by crime three consecutive times...lost my business, my marriage, even my kids. It doesn't qualify as a dream, but one night at the end of myself, considering that if there was a god, I should talk to him before checking out...so lying in bed, I started taking - and He answered, in what can best be described as an out of body or religious experience. I was caught up into the clouds above the earth and shown my purpose in life, my worth...and then - I popped back into my body with a shock of bewilderment.

Life took a series of turns after that and in about a week I went to live with my brother and his family temporarily. In the room were the put me up was a bible - I was drawn to it, and picked it up and read it from cover to cover, barely stopping for food or sleep. When I did, I was amazed to find that it confirmed my experience, and my experience confirm its writings.

Since then, the words of the bible come alive to me with personal meaning and insight that goes beyond the words. Just as my experience was echoed in the bible and vice versa, the words forever continue to echo the things of everyday life - with connection and purpose. Life has never been the same.

This is so interesting, great testimony... I wonder why God doesn't do something similar to this with everyone.

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

Cool thread ... and hi Ana

I've given this account before, but thought I would copy/paste it from another thread, here into this one, as I think it's a nice example ... sorry if I take up multiple posts, and also, I believe the annoying "&#8230" is supposed to be "...". Anyways, here's the copy paste:

Back around 2000, my wife (at the time) and I, were living and working in Washington State. We were, at that time, exploring different aspects of Christianity, and it was very much the first time both of us had ever seriously done so. Up to that point, I had lived in various countries around the world, and explored different aspects of people's beliefs and religions … I had my own, very simplified set of beliefs, but by and large "Christianity" wasn't one of the religions I explored in depth. As a child … my father was an atheist/agnostic variety, and my mother was a believer but couldn't stand religion or being told what to think, so nothing was shoved down my throat "belief" wise, and one of the freedoms I had, was the freedom to ask questions, explore anything I could (I had friends from an interesting cross section of cultures). I did explore some things as a child, but it was limited in scope concerning "Christianity". So anyways, in Washington, my wife and I dove in head first, and we started with the "ancient" varieties: Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, etc. From there we branched out into anything else we could come in contact with: Unitarians, Lutherans, Methodist varieties.

One thing we were looking for specifically, were those who claimed to have "the truth", and how that truth held up and reflected in reality. And also … we very much wanted to find a denomination that focussed on helping humanity. Serving the poor, feeding the hungry, helping the oppressed. I had lived as an expat for some time, frequently in dangerous situations … and I wasn't afraid to go to difficult third world countries and give my all. My wife had also lived in some similar situations with me, so we traveled good together, were both willing, etc. So, we weren't just looking for those who would claim to have the "truth" and whether this added up practically in reality, but we also wanted to find ways to join organizations that would put us in hotspots around the world. We were already comfortable living out of a bag, in dangerous situations, and so we thought not only would we be useful in such situations, but we could also make our affinity for that lifestyle count for others in need.

One thing lead to another, and we heard about a missionary organization, which we ended up joining. I'm going to make this part of the story short and get to the point … we ended up working, almost right away, at one of their main "bases" in Hawaii of all places. I mean, we had places like Sierra Leone in mind, the Sudan, Iraq lol … but we ended up in Hawaii.

At this time, we were still very much questioning, exploring, etc. "Willing to try." We didn't want to discount, or discredit someone or something, until we walked it ourselves. So going to Hawaii may not have been what we had in mind, but we were willing to try anything, and that's where we ended up.

Almost immediately upon arriving in Hawaii, we were confronted by a side of Christianity we had never been exposed to yet, and that was the Charismatic/Pentecostal types of individuals. This was something that, in my all life, I had never directly been exposed too. To me, it was the equivalent of something one may see on TV at 4am in the morning: televangelist preachers putting on a dramatic show to swindle people out of money. It was akin to a circus, in my mind, almost to offensive levels. I mean, it offended my intelligence, my sense of, "Do you really think I'm this gullible to by into this sensationalized show ?" as well as my desire to actually *help* people in need. Seeing people "speak in tongues" … was new to me. I had never seen anything like that before, apart from television mockery or television "snake oil". To me, it was no different than the babble of those who may were possessed in horror movies. And the running around, crying in front of others, throwing hands up in the air, constant repetitive prayers … what did ANY of that have to do with the hungry child in the Sudan ? Or the person caught up in the sex trade in Thailand ? Or the genocide taking place in the heart of Africa ? I just didn't see how any of it was relevant, and neither did my wife. And so, from almost moment one … we had almost settled on it being a mistake that we even go to Hawaii in the first place.

By only our third day there, we were seriously considering leaving and throwing in the towel. We had gone all the way there (and used up almost all our resources to do so, which wasn't really new for us … that was part of our lifestyle, but still), and we showed up, and gave it a shot … but it seemingly had nothing to do with "truth". It seemed to have to do with people's personal artistic displays or something, and their confusion about what they could agree upon. Again, we wanted to serve those in desperate need, while finding out the "truth" about God, Jesus, Christianity in general, etc.

Well, it was the third morning or so … when before my work day started (as I said, I worked for this base, literally) my boss gathered some of us who worked there together for a "prayer meeting". There was about 6-8 of us maybe ? A small group in other words. They all knew each other, I was the new person. Anyways, they began to sing songs, close their eyes, sway back and forth and pray … and some of them began to "pray in tongues". The incoherent version, where people "babble". In fact, one of them said, "We all pray in tongues in here, right ? Let's do it …" and they just went into it.

At that, I was sitting there and I was more uncomfortable than I had been in a long time. And I had been in some situations already in my life involving war zones, etc … but this, I felt foolish, like I was wasting my time. And I was angry … if THIS is what "God" was about to these people, I didn't want to waste my time doing whatever-they-were-doing. There were people in need out there, and I was interested in helping them. Not sitting around and babbling and patting each other on the back while debating who was right and wrong.

I was angry at myself, and frustrated with the situation, and with them for assuming I was going to "speak in tongues" like them. I wasn't a rube, nor easily fooled, and I certainly wasn't going to put forth effort to fake something.

I was one second away from just getting up and walking out on them all, going to find my wife and telling her, "Look, can we please just get out of this insanity ? I'm not interested in joining a cult to find the truth or help people, and I can't tell if this is a cult or just people who eat too many cocoa puffs …". I mean, it was also my own attitude. If that was the attitude I was going to have towards them, what possible benefit would I even be to THEM ? Did they really need someone who was thinking these things about them, working for them ? I didn't want to be a jerk to *them*. It just seemed like a win/win if I just left and started with that prayer meeting right there.

But then I remember thinking to myself, "If I actually am correct, that they are not anywhere near to knowing the "truth about God" and they are way off course, then I need to learn to deal with it. I need to learn to care about these people too, not just the ones starving and in pain and in need. I need to care about ALL people, including these, and so I need to adjust if I'm going to learn the truth about EVERYTHING."

And that's when one of the people in the group, looked up at me, and to my shock and surprise said this to me:

"I see a big question mark over your head. Like, a question mark. I think that God wants you to ask Him something. Almost like He's daring you to." And she said it with a smile, and then went back to closing her eyes and the rest of the group was just "talking in tongues" and singing songs and praying.

All of that, was the build-up and context for this:

After she said that, I remember thinking, "How dare her call me out, when she should already be able to clearly see that I'm not into what they are doing," … when almost immediately, I began to experience something.

I began to get extremely hot. Like, there was a fire inside of me, except that it was accompanied by something: what felt like a wind. I literally began to feel like a hot, fiery wind began to blow into me. It's hard to describe … I had felt this to some degree one time before in my life many years earlier (that's another story), but this was like that time, times 10. I could feel my own temperature rising, I was sure my face was flush, and this strong, fiery wind … it was like it was filling me. As if someone was breathing into your lungs for you, except it wasn't just your lungs that was filling with the wind, it was your entire body.

And I began to cry. I don't know why … whatever it was I was feeling, was like … effecting me physically, almost to an overwhelming state … and my response was to cry, from the overwhelming effect it was having on my body.

I tried to stop it, to focus, and I began to wonder, "What the bleep is happening to me ?" but I couldn't control it, or stop it. It didn't feel "bad" to me … I wasn't in pain, I was just overwhelmed, and the fiery wind … it was unique.

I couldn't believe I was sitting there crying, going through this all of a sudden … and that's when I heard the following:

My mind began to pick up a voice. It wasn't the same as when you "tall to yourself" in your own mind, nor was it with audible ears. It was more like an in-between … not in the place where one focusses mentally and can have a conversation with themselves lol, but "outside of it" And the voice said, in a friendly manner, "Ask me something. Anything, just go ahead and ask me …" and I could very clearly tell that it was … almost jovial.

This voice became clearer and clearer, and my mind cleared out almost with a clarity one gets similar to when they're "in the zone". And the voice kept saying it, over and over.

cont ...

Best conversion story ever!!!!! After all of that..where are you now...like what do you do now?

 

[Archie the Preacher]

Recently I was going to meet a friend at a bar... "Your not, your here to have a conversation with a bar tender."

The story sound a bit off the beaten track for the secular world; I understand and have had similar things happen.

 

[ScottA]

This is so interesting, great testimony... I wonder why God doesn't do something similar to this with everyone.

It's like we all get on the roller coaster not knowing that someone is going to get soaked - I'm that guy. And then it goes around again...and someone else gets it. We may choose our path, but God decide where it takes us. Proverbs 16:9

 

[Far Side Of the Moon]

It's like we all get on the roller coaster not knowing that someone is going to get soaked - I'm that guy. And then it goes around again...and someone else gets it. We may choose our path, but God decide where it takes us. Proverbs 16:9

That's very true.