How can I find spiritual awareness?

[losthope]

For all of my life I have had no spiritual awareness of any kind. The Bible and Christians tell me that we all have a spirit, that our spirit lives on after death, that God has a spiritual nature, and the need to be open to the influence of the Holy Spirit. But how can I do this when as far as I am aware, I do not have a spirit?

Christians have told me about their spiritual awareness and spiritual experiences. So have people with other faiths, and people of no faith. The nature of their spiritual experiences varies, but they all agree that it was something spiritual. Some attribute it to God, others do not.

Never in my life have I experienced anything like this. Am I different from the majority of people? Or is a total lack of spiritual awareness common?

I know that I will never be able to embrace Christianity until something that I can describe as a spiritual experience happens to me. I have no idea what type of spiritual experience that might be. One possibility is of the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin. I try to remain open to spiritual experience, even though I am not at all sure what I am waiting for.

I could not become a Christian without spiritual awareness, because Christianity involves having a personal spiritual relationship, and being influenced by the Holy Spirit. Paul recognised this when he wrote 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14.

Christians despair at my lack of spiritual awareness. So have Buddhists, New Age people, and people of no faith. Maybe I am spiritually blind, or deaf, or dead – whatever that means. I do not really understand spiritual language.

Nothing that I have tried has made any difference. Asking Jesus into my life, repentance, prayer, church services, Bible study, living as a born again Christian for two years, meditation, going to so-called spiritual places, reading books on spirituality, and much more. They all leave me cold and have no spiritual influence on me. I know that I am missing out on an important part of life.

It may be significant that I lack passion and strong emotions, because of a physiological condition. Despite what many Christians say, emotions do seem to be an important requirement for knowing God. It means, for example, that I am unable to do anything “with all my heart”. This may be related to my complete lack of spiritual awareness.

Can you suggest how I could find some spiritual awareness? It could be the first step towards finding God.

If you cannot help, do you know of someone, anywhere in the world, who could help me? Perhaps someone open to the spiritual gifts of wisdom or a word of knowledge from God. Maybe there is someone who has met my situation before.

 

[drich0150]

Never in my life have I experienced anything like this. Am I different from the majority of people? Or is a total lack of spiritual awareness common?

What happens over time is we become desensitized to things spiritually, if we choose to live or have never been taught to live for anything beside ourselves.

I know that I will never be able to embrace Christianity until something that I can describe as a spiritual experience happens to me. I have no idea what type of spiritual experience that might be. One possibility is of the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin. I try to remain open to spiritual experience, even though I am not at all sure what I am waiting for.

It's been my experience that what your waiting for is pain. The ability to see our own sin usually is revealed through the sins of others that are visited on ourselves.. That is if your heart is soft enough to look past the wrong or injustice that you have experienced, to the base of sin that tie all sins together, even the ones you have committed..

I could not become a Christian without spiritual awareness, because Christianity involves having a personal spiritual relationship, and being influenced by the Holy Spirit. Paul recognized this when he wrote 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14.

..So if you want the Spirit then ask seek and knock Like Jesus tells us to do in Luke 11:
5Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.'

7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

We ask through Prayer, we seek in the bible and study under those who exhibit Spiritual fruit as witnessed in Gal 5:22&23 and we knock by repeating this process till we get what our hearts want.

Nothing that I have tried has made any difference. Asking Jesus into my life, repentance, prayer, church services, Bible study, living as a born again Christian for two years, meditation, going to so-called spiritual places, reading books on spirituality, and much more. They all leave me cold and have no spiritual influence on me. I know that I am missing out on an important part of life.

The Holy Spirit does not reside in christian like activity, nor can he be found in a certain life style. The Holy Spirit is a gift from the Father to those who earnestly ask, seek and knock for Him.

It may be significant that I lack passion and strong emotions, because of a physiological condition. Despite what many Christians say, emotions do seem to be an important requirement for knowing God. It means, for example, that I am unable to do anything “with all my heart”. This may be related to my complete lack of spiritual awareness.

All that is asked of us from God, is to seek Him out with all that we have been given. If emotion is not something you have been given, then look for him with what you do have. Your relationship doesn't have to be filled with emotion and fireworks, just because others experience God that way.. What you should be trying to do is to start and maintain a relationship, and like with any relationship they don't have to look like other relationships in order for the people in them to be happy. All that they require is that the people in them give all that they have to the other person. (No matter what that might look like to someone else.)

Seek God out with what you do have, and I promise you will find Him.

Can you suggest how I could find some spiritual awareness? It could be the first step toward finding God.

If you cannot help, do you know of someone, anywhere in the world, who could help me? Perhaps someone open to the spiritual gifts of wisdom or a word of knowledge from God. Maybe there is someone who has met my situation before.

Simply go before God and ask Him to open your eyes that you may see Him, Your Ears, that you may hear Him, and you Heart that you may except what you have seen and Heard, and keep doing so till you have what your heart wants.

We are told that if we have the faith of a mustard seed, that is enough to move a mountain. Imagine what little faith you must have to simply call on God in a way that He may hear you..

 

[Van]

Hi Losthope, your human spirit exists within you, it is your life force, when it departs, your body dies. You are aware of yourself, your lack of emotion, your memories, your attitudes, hopes and desires. That awareness is your spiritual awareness of yourself. So you have it, but apparently call it by another name. A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Now your lack of feeling like the Holy Spirit is guiding you and reinforcing your prayers may be caused by the absence of the Holy Spirit, you may be unsaved and "in the flesh" rather than in the Spirit.

So your issue is not "spiritual awareness" but faith in God. Hebrews 11:6.

 

[losthope]

To drich0150

I appreciate your suggestions:
That perhaps my lack of spiritual awareness is through becoming desensitised. If so, I must have been born desensitised, because I have never experienced anything spiritual.
You write of “heart”, which is something that I do not experience. You need emotions to have “heart”.
You suggest going on asking God. I have asked, many times. I know what the verses say in Luke 11 and elsewhere, but for me it has not happened. No response as far as I am aware. That is why I am suspecting that my lack of spiritual awareness is a real problem.
I quite agree that the Holy Spirit is a gift, and not found in Christian activity etc. I merely listed all of those things in case someone suggested that I should try one of them.
You wrote this: What you should be trying to do is to start and maintain a relationship, and like with any relationship they don't have to look like other relationships in order for the people in them to be happy. All that they require is that the people in them give all that they have to the other person. I agree that what I need is a relationship. But how can I have a relationship with God when, as far as I am aware, God does not respond? I have sought God with all that I have been given. No response, unfortunately. That is why I asked my question about spiritual awareness.
You say that if I seek God with what I do have, you promise that I will find him. Many people have said that to me, since I first started searching in 1966. It is a very long time to wait for a prayer to be answered.
I have asked God to open my eyes etc. Yet I remain totally unaware of anything spiritual.
You suggest that all I need is faith. If that were so, I would have been a Christian for many years. Faith may have been enough for you. I thought it would have been enough for me, but obviously it is not. That is why I asked for specialist help. The type of help I have been unable to obtain from any of the local churches here.

 

[losthope]

To Van

I do not really know what a human spirit is. Different people explain it in different ways. I do know that I have no spiritual awareness in the sense that many Christians, and people of no faith, describe it to me. I would have labelled what you describe as my human spirit as consciousness. Certainly there is nothing there that would live on after my death, as far as I am aware, and it is (I am told) the spirit which has life after the body dies.

You may well be right that I may be unsaved. To be honest, I do not know if I am saved or not. I do know that I have no spiritual blessings.

You say that I need faith. I had faith, but it didn’t help. You may not agree with me, because your experience has been different from mine. But for me it is clear that faith is not enough, because there was no spiritual response to my faith. The trouble is, I do not know what else is needed.

 

[drich0150]

You write of “heart”, which is something that I do not experience. You need emotions to have “heart”.

Actually when I write of Heart I mean any desire that we may have. In your writing your desire to show or prove that you have no emotional desire is in of it self a heart felt desire. Because on more than one occasion you've tried to communicate the status of your heart, even if you think their is nothing to communicate, your desire to communicate that, is all that is required from you. (Just direct that to God.) If/when He gives you more, you will be responsible to direct or invest that for Him as well.

You suggest going on asking God. I have asked, many times. I know what the verses say in Luke 11 and elsewhere, but for me it has not happened. No response as far as I am aware. That is why I am suspecting that my lack of spiritual awareness is a real problem.

My suggestion was to turn to scripture, and Luke 11 tells us that All who Ask, Seek, and Knock For The Holy Spirit Will Receive A Measure Of The Holy Spirit.. Perhaps instead of asking for what you think you need, like spiritual awareness, ask God to whatever it takes, even break you anyway he needs to, so that you may receive the Spirit.

But how can I have a relationship with God when, as far as I am aware, God does not respond?

In any relationship if one side goes silent then that should be a sign for the other side to stop doing what it is they are doing and reevaluate themselves. In this case I would look at my life and see if there are any sins outstanding or anything that may be placed in my heart as a barrier between myself and God. Examples would be unresolved anger, pride, sin, a desire to avoid hell over that of Love for God.

You say that if I seek God with what I do have, you promise that I will find him. Many people have said that to me, since I first started searching in 1966. It is a very long time to wait for a prayer to be answered.

Again perhaps your looking for God on your terms. You have admitted in a search for God but you limit your search to what you wish to give God. because you feel what you lack is a matter of heart. When in fact the greatest command tells us that in order to Find God we must Give all of our Heart, Mind, Spirit and Strength to Him. Again it is evident that you do indeed have heart, remember it's not the volume compared with what someone else may be able to give, it's your willingness to Give of what you do Have.. Perhaps this is your real problem you had to turn your emotion off at some point in your life and instead of dealing with whatever, you've been telling yourself that you are God's only "Tin Man." If you look, I suspect that just like the Tin Man, you will find you had a heart all along, you just choose not to see it.
Either way until you learn to give of what you do have, (Whatever that maybe) you will continue to produce a fruitless search.

You suggest that all I need is faith. If that were so, I would have been a Christian for many years. Faith may have been enough for you. I thought it would have been enough for me, but obviously it is not. That is why I asked for specialist help. The type of help I have been unable to obtain from any of the local churches here.

brother, "faith" is not my requirement, I am simply relaying what is written. Above and beyond faith we must first have love. faith is the car, the Love we have for God is the fuel that makes the car work. Their can be neither if you can't truly give of yourself.
Not giving of yourself is something learned, your not born that way. This is why no specialist will ever be able to help you. From what I see you want God to meet you where you are most comfortable, and by stringing together a healthy paper trail of specialist and different churches, perhaps it is your goal to fool Him as you have fooled others about your earnest intent.. Just know On the day of your Judgment rest assured you will be given The most complete and fair trial that anyone anywhere can receive because as Hebrews 4:12 states

12For the word of God (Jesus) is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Your efforts maybe enough, and then again they may not be, but who am I right? The only thing I can offer you for sure is direction in the way of scripture. If you want reassurance in where you stand with God then your going to have to meet Him on His terms. Otherwise pray that in fact you are that Tin Man, and were made to be the sole unwritten exception to everything the bible teaches or requires for a relationship with God/salvation.

 

[Van]

Hi Losthope, your conscious awareness is your awareness of your human spirit. To say that it will not live on after your body dies is simply a rejection of the word of God. You have no faith in God and according to Hebrews 11:6, that means you will not "feel" God's presence.

Next, you say you have no spiritual blessings. You are alive, and life is a gift from God. So again, it comes right back to you having no or little faith in God.

You say you had faith but it did not help. It sounds more like intellectual assent, you believed in God's existence, but you were not committed to God. Have you ever jumped out of an airplane, trusting in the parachute, or off a cliff, trusting in the rope, or advanced in combat, trusting in those who provide the covering fire? I knew a fellow once, nice guy, very smart, but he had a condition too, his was he could not trust others.

You asked for some spiritual discernment. How about this: What are you afraid of? That you might "waste" your life on false hope? I used to be a skipper of a small boat, with no "radar" or GPS. In the fog, you listened and looked and if you sensed the rocks on one side of the channel, you steered away. The problem for some is they played it "too" safe, steered too far, and hit the rocks on the other side of the channel. Goodbye and God Bless.

 

[drich0150]

I'm beginning to think I might have offended you in my last post. Be careful, taking offense is an emotional reaction...

 

[losthope]

Responding again to drich0150
Actually when I write of Heart I mean any desire that we may have. In your writing your desire to show or prove that you have no emotional desire is in of it self a heart felt desire. Because on more than one occasion you've tried to communicate the status of your heart, even if you think their is nothing to communicate, your desire to communicate that, is all that is required from you. (Just direct that to God.) If/when He gives you more, you will be responsible to direct or invest that for Him as well.

I describe my small amount of “heart” and offering that to God, in a similar way to the widow’s two small coins at the temple. She gave all that she had, even though what she gave was very small. I have directed my tiny amount of “heart” in the same way to God. But despite what Jesus said about the widow, my tiny amount of heart does seem to be insufficient, even though it is all that I have. Because I received no response from God.

My suggestion was to turn to scripture, and Luke 11 tells us that All who Ask, Seek, and Knock For The Holy Spirit Will Receive A Measure Of The Holy Spirit.. Perhaps instead of asking for what you think you need, like spiritual awareness, ask God to whatever it takes, even break you anyway he needs to, so that you may receive the Spirit.
Some prayers are answered with a yes, some with a no and sometimes with “wait”. I think you are saying here that as I have asked God many times, then eventually I will receive a response. Maybe, but I have already been waiting for 35 years – since before you were born. Over the years I have asked for God to give me whatever God thinks I need. I try not to specify what I need. I am thinking particularly of spiritual awareness at the moment but in the past my prayers have been more general. I hoped that being more specific might help, but it has made no difference.

In any relationship if one side goes silent then that should be a sign for the other side to stop doing what it is they are doing and reevaluate themselves. In this case I would look at my life and see if there are any sins outstanding or anything that may be placed in my heart as a barrier between myself and God. Examples would be unresolved anger, pride, sin, a desire to avoid hell over that of Love for God.
Absolutely right. You say that in any relationship when the other side goes silent then it is time for reevaluation. That is precisely what I did in 1976 when I realised that god was not responding to me. I stepped back from being a Christian and tried to evaluate what was wrong. At the time, many Christians rejected me for giving up my faith. It is encouraging for you to think that I did the right thing. Certainly I still believe that I was right to give up calling myself a Christian, and to try to reevaluate. The trouble is, that all of these years later I still have no answer as to what is the barrier. One other difference is that for me it was not a case of the other side going silent. The other side has always been silent. I never had anything personal from God.

Again perhaps your looking for God on your terms. You have admitted in a search for God but you limit your search to what you wish to give God. because you feel what you lack is a matter of heart. When in fact the greatest command tells us that in order to Find God we must Give all of our Heart, Mind, Spirit and Strength to Him. Again it is evident that you do indeed have heart, remember it's not the volume compared with what someone else may be able to give, it's your willingness to Give of what you do Have.
See my comments above, about the widow’s mite.

Perhaps this is your real problem you had to turn your emotion off at some point in your life and instead of dealing with whatever, you've been telling yourself that you are God's only "Tin Man." If you look, I suspect that just like the Tin Man, you will find you had a heart all along, you just choose not to see it.
I am not a person whose emotion was turned off at some point in my life. I have always lacked emotion. The cause is a physiological condition, not “switching off”. I was born that way, so you could even argue that God wanted me to be like this.

brother, "faith" is not my requirement, I am simply relaying what is written. Above and beyond faith we must first have love. faith is the car, the Love we have for God is the fuel that makes the car work. Their can be neither if you can't truly give of yourself.
Not giving of yourself is something learned, your not born that way. This is why no specialist will ever be able to help you.
You write of love. I know that love is one of “those emotion things”. It is not something that I have ever experienced. Certainly it is impossible for me to love God, because I could not possibly love someone I do not know. One the other hand, giving of myself is something that I have no problems with; I do it all the time, but it is not done out of love.

From what I see you want God to meet you where you are most comfortable, and by stringing together a healthy paper trail of specialist and different churches, perhaps it is your goal to fool Him as you have fooled others about your earnest intent.. Just know On the day of your Judgment rest assured you will be given The most complete and fair trial that anyone anywhere can receive
I am not expecting God to meet me where I am most comfortable. I know that I have to step out in faith, in order to meet God. It is just that so far, when I have stepped out in faith (and I assure that I have) I failed to find God. Many Christians have tried to help me, and have given up, recognising that my experience is something completely different from anything they are familiar with. That is why I think that I need the help of a specialist. Of course, if the specialist is called Jesus, that would be fantastic. As for the day of my judgement, I am not interested in life after death. Never have been, not even during the time that I thought I was a Christian. It has no attraction for me. Maybe because it is the spirit of a person that lives on after death, and as far as I am aware I do not have a spirit.

Your efforts maybe enough, and then again they may not be, but who am I right? The only thing I can offer you for sure is direction in the way of scripture. If you want reassurance in where you stand with God then your going to have to meet Him on His terms.
You may or may not believe me, but I do want to meet God on God’s terms. There would be no point in trying to meet God on my terms. But all of these years of reevaluation have not shown me how or where to find God. The Bible gives general guidance, and makes various promises. However, I am still waiting for those promises to be fulfilled with me.

By the way, I was not at all offended by your reply.

 

[losthope]

Responding again to Van

You say several times that my problem is that I do not have faith in God. I quite agree that I do not have faith in God. The problem is, that even when I did have faith in God, it made no difference. I still had no response from God.

You suggest that my faith was just intellectual assent, and that what is needed is being committed to God. Well, I thought that I was committed to God, but I suppose you could argue that was only intellectual assent as well. I prefer to say that I trusted in God rather than that I had faith in God. Ask people who knew me during my time as a Christian in the 1970s, if I was committed to God. Or ask the people who watched me, two years ago, when I found a way to trust God again, was full of hope, and saw it all evaporate in weeks because I never received any response from God.

Sorry but I did not understand what your account of steering a boat has to do with spiritual awareness.

I am not trying to be negative. It is just that, during the many years that I have been trying to find God, I have tried many things, and none have brought me into a relationship with God.

 

[drich0150]

As for the day of my judgement, I am not interested in life after death. Never have been, not even during the time that I thought I was a Christian. It has no attraction for me.

Then what do you want from God? Why all of this effort? what are your goals and why?

 

[andreha]

For all of my life I have had no spiritual awareness of any kind. The Bible and Christians tell me that we all have a spirit, that our spirit lives on after death, that God has a spiritual nature, and the need to be open to the influence of the Holy Spirit. But how can I do this when as far as I am aware, I do not have a spirit?

Christians have told me about their spiritual awareness and spiritual experiences. So have people with other faiths, and people of no faith. The nature of their spiritual experiences varies, but they all agree that it was something spiritual. Some attribute it to God, others do not.

Never in my life have I experienced anything like this. Am I different from the majority of people? Or is a total lack of spiritual awareness common?

I know that I will never be able to embrace Christianity until something that I can describe as a spiritual experience happens to me. I have no idea what type of spiritual experience that might be. One possibility is of the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin. I try to remain open to spiritual experience, even though I am not at all sure what I am waiting for.

I could not become a Christian without spiritual awareness, because Christianity involves having a personal spiritual relationship, and being influenced by the Holy Spirit. Paul recognised this when he wrote 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14.

Christians despair at my lack of spiritual awareness. So have Buddhists, New Age people, and people of no faith. Maybe I am spiritually blind, or deaf, or dead – whatever that means. I do not really understand spiritual language.

Nothing that I have tried has made any difference. Asking Jesus into my life, repentance, prayer, church services, Bible study, living as a born again Christian for two years, meditation, going to so-called spiritual places, reading books on spirituality, and much more. They all leave me cold and have no spiritual influence on me. I know that I am missing out on an important part of life.

It may be significant that I lack passion and strong emotions, because of a physiological condition. Despite what many Christians say, emotions do seem to be an important requirement for knowing God. It means, for example, that I am unable to do anything “with all my heart”. This may be related to my complete lack of spiritual awareness.

Can you suggest how I could find some spiritual awareness? It could be the first step towards finding God.

If you cannot help, do you know of someone, anywhere in the world, who could help me? Perhaps someone open to the spiritual gifts of wisdom or a word of knowledge from God. Maybe there is someone who has met my situation before.

Hey, Losthope

I'd like to share some personal experience with you, regarding the Holy Spirit. The Lord blessed me with 32 years of awesome experiences. The Key is to first accept Jesus Christ as your saviour. And that's easy. Just declare it with your mouth, from your heart. And ask the Holy Spirit to lead you, guide you and teach you. That is the key. You have to ask with your mouth. He is very gentle. He is so kind, and wonderfully powerful. He really is there for us. The Holy Spirit has a way of touching us, and under His influence, nobody can stay the same. The thing to remember is that we need not be afraid of Him, or His influence. He will surprise you with His love, goodness, tenderness and kindness. I posted a few testimonies, starting here, that details some awesome things that He showed me. Just the other day, a CF member was contemplating suicide, and the Holy Spirit gave me insight and truth to share with her. Her life turned around overnight. By myself I could never hope to come up with such a masterfully crafted message.

Anyhow, I'd love to share as much as you like. Please feel free to PM me anytime.

 

[aiki]

For all of my life I have had no spiritual awareness of any kind. The Bible and Christians tell me that we all have a spirit, that our spirit lives on after death, that God has a spiritual nature, and the need to be open to the influence of the Holy Spirit. But how can I do this when as far as I am aware, I do not have a spirit?

You can't. The Bible tells us that, until we are "made alive" by God's Spirit, we are "dead in trespasses and sins." This means a person who God has not touched by His Spirit and brought to life spiritually will be just as you describe yourself: without any spiritual awareness of any kind.

Christians have told me about their spiritual awareness and spiritual experiences. So have people with other faiths, and people of no faith. The nature of their spiritual experiences varies, but they all agree that it was something spiritual. Some attribute it to God, others do not.

What a Christian means when he speaks of spiritual life and what a New Age pagan, or buddhist, or Muslim means are two very different things. According to the Bible, what spirituality these people may claim to have is a pale shadow of the spiritual life God gives when He regenerates a Hell-bound sinner.

Never in my life have I experienced anything like this. Am I different from the majority of people? Or is a total lack of spiritual awareness common?

Sounds like you simply need to be "born again."

I know that I will never be able to embrace Christianity until something that I can describe as a spiritual experience happens to me. I have no idea what type of spiritual experience that might be. One possibility is of the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin. I try to remain open to spiritual experience, even though I am not at all sure what I am waiting for.

I see. In other words, you'll only come to God on your terms, not His. If He doesn't give you the "spiritual experience" you want, well, then, you refuse to believe. There is a fundamental reversal of the dynamic between you and God in this. You would start your relationship with Him by giving Him demands. But who is God when this is the dynamic? Do you obey God, or does He obey you?

I could not become a Christian without spiritual awareness, because Christianity involves having a personal spiritual relationship, and being influenced by the Holy Spirit. Paul recognised this when he wrote 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14.

Spiritual "awareness," or spiritual life, comes after we exercise faith toward Christ as our Saviour and Lord. This is always the way of things for the Christian: First we believe and then we receive.

Christians despair at my lack of spiritual awareness. So have Buddhists, New Age people, and people of no faith. Maybe I am spiritually blind, or deaf, or dead – whatever that means. I do not really understand spiritual language.

Being "spiritually dead" doesn't seem to me to be such a difficult concept to understand. You seem to be describing it quite well...

Nothing that I have tried has made any difference. Asking Jesus into my life, repentance, prayer, church services, Bible study, living as a born again Christian for two years, meditation, going to so-called spiritual places, reading books on spirituality, and much more. They all leave me cold and have no spiritual influence on me. I know that I am missing out on an important part of life.

Yes, you really are missing out.

What do you think it means to "ask Jesus into your life"? Why do you think that the religious activities you list above can impart to you the spiritual life you need?

It may be significant that I lack passion and strong emotions, because of a physiological condition. Despite what many Christians say, emotions do seem to be an important requirement for knowing God. It means, for example, that I am unable to do anything “with all my heart”. This may be related to my complete lack of spiritual awareness.

Feelings, strong emotions, or passion are not the bedrock upon which the Christian faith rests. Certainly, walking with God may at times powerfully affect one's emotions, but feelings wax and wane and shift like waves of the sea. The changeable nature of emotion, therefore, disqualifies emotion as a basis for faith.

Can you suggest how I could find some spiritual awareness? It could be the first step towards finding God.

The first step toward "finding God" is simply to ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Be warned, though, that how He does this will not likely be via the means you expect or desire.

Peace.

 

[ephraimanesti]

If you cannot help, do you know of someone, anywhere in the world, who could help me? Perhaps someone open to the spiritual gifts of wisdom or a word of knowledge from God. Maybe there is someone who has met my situation before.

MY DEAR BROTHER,

i, too, began seeking God rather late in my life, and i will strongly affirm, from personal experience, that there is nothing God desires more for you than your experience of developing a Loving, Trusting, and Peace-filled relationship with Him. He is your Abba--Daddy--and is waiting for you, the prodigal son, with open arms. Even your stated desire for a "spiritual experience" which you describe was planted within you by God to serve as a motivator to lead you into His presence. Believe that He is GOOD!

Soooooo . . . you might ask, if God is willing and I am willing, than what's the problem? Not knowing you personally beyond what you have posted, i would be loath to hazard a guess given that a wrong guess and consequential misguided advice might send you off in the wrong direction, delying your journey even further.

i can, however, look back on my own personal experience an note a few steps i had to take in order to arrive "fully at home" with God.

#1. The first step is pretty obvious--i had to come to fully believe that God existed. For me, this was a rather easy jump from agnosticism to belief. i believe that the available evidence overwhelmingly indicates that there is a Creator God in control of the universe. If this is an issue for you, any Christian bookstore can provide you with a wealth of reading material on the scientific evidence for God's existence, for example: THE CASE FOR A CREATOR: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God by Lee Strobel.

#2. i came to believe that Jesus Christ was God's Son and the gateway to the Father--just as He claims to be. In this regard, i spent several years studying various world religions before i ended up with an overwhelmingly strong belief that Christianity alone held the key to God's presence that i was seeking. Reading the Bible through several times provided me with an understanding of the path which is laid out for a seeker of God to finally enter into God's presence. i followed the instructions found in the New Testament and, finally, reaped the rewards which it described by doing what it asked--forsaking all know sins, surrending my entire being to God, asking for His indwelling Holy Spirit, and following the leading of the Holy Spirit to the letter and without question.

#3. i learned to pay no attention to my feelings, but, in Faith, followed implicitly what i had come to believe with true about God and His Son Jesus Christ--irregardless of how i felt about things at the time--i prayed when i did not "feel" like praying, i trusted when i did not "feel" like trusting, i choose to believe when i felt like doubting, etc. Our feelings are merely ever-changing sensations of our flesh are are definitely not to be relied upon as spiritual guides! Feelings come and go, flip and flop, drifting in the wind, and are in no way trustworthy indicators of spiritual experiences or progress. (This, if i may say so, appears to be one of your major difficulties on your quest--relying on feelings to guide and direct you and to announce to you when you have "arrived.")

i would suggest that you read the Word of God--the Bible--accept it for what it is no matter how you may "feel" about it--and just follow directions. Address your known sins, admit your need for a Savior, confess and forsake your sin, surrender completely to Jesus Christ--body, mind, soul, and spirit--prayerfully request the gift of the Holy Spirit, and then follow directions without question. In the place of vainly following your feelings "ACT AS IF" you were experiencing the spiritual feelings you have visualized and, lo and behold, they will eventually fall into place when the time comes and the proper foundation has been laid.

Faith in God is a DECISION and not a feeling! The feelings do eventually come, as they have for me, but when they do you will find that they are merely "frosting on the cake" and not the most important part of your journey at all.

In this regard, might i suggest that you read a neat little book entitled HE LOVES ME by Wayne Jacobsen. It has helped me immeasurably, and is available as a free download at:

Wayne Jacobsen's Books: He Loves Me

Just click on "free first edition" at the bottom of the page.

This book is a really quick read but i think it will be of help to you as it was for me.

i understand that what i have posted above may seem rather confusing or may not even apply to you at all. If you have any questions i can answer or need any further information which i can supply, please feel free to post them or to PM me.

MAY YOU BE BLESSED WITH SUCCESS IN YOUR SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH!

A BOND-SLAVE/FRIEND/BROTHER OF OUR LORD/GOD/SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,
ephraim

 

[losthope]

Then what do you want from God? Why all of this effort? what are your goals and why?

My desire was to serve the greatest king. I am quite happy to do this in life. I would be happy to continue doing it after death, as well, but that is not essential for me. It is knowing and serving God in this life that is important to me. But without some kind of relationship with God, I cannot do that.

I am surprised that a Christian asks what I want, other than a reward in heaven. I always thought that the potential for blessings started as soon as a person was accepted by God.

 

[losthope]

Hey, Losthope

I'd like to share some personal experience with you, regarding the Holy Spirit. The Lord blessed me with 32 years of awesome experiences. The Key is to first accept Jesus Christ as your saviour. And that's easy. Just declare it with your mouth, from your heart. And ask the Holy Spirit to lead you, guide you and teach you. That is the key. You have to ask with your mouth. He is very gentle. He is so kind, and wonderfully powerful. He really is there for us. The Holy Spirit has a way of touching us, and under His influence, nobody can stay the same. The thing to remember is that we need not be afraid of Him, or His influence. He will surprise you with His love, goodness, tenderness and kindness. I posted a few testimonies, starting here, that details some awesome things that He showed me. Just the other day, a CF member was contemplating suicide, and the Holy Spirit gave me insight and truth to share with her. Her life turned around overnight. By myself I could never hope to come up with such a masterfully crafted message.

Anyhow, I'd love to share as much as you like. Please feel free to PM me anytime.

You say, quite rightly, that first a person has to accept Jesus Christ as their saviour. And then ask the Holy Spirit to lead them.

It has obviously "worked" for you. But it did not work for me. I accepted Jesus as my saviour, and I asked the Holy Spirit to lead me. But nothing happened, nothing changed, there were no awesome things. I was not aware of the Holy Spirit at all. And I am trying to find out why it failed to happen for me, when it has obviously happened for so many other people. If you have any insight and truth from the Holy Spirit about that, I would be delighted, and maybe eternally grateful.

 

[losthope]

A response to aiki
You can't. The Bible tells us that, until we are "made alive" by God's Spirit, we are "dead in trespasses and sins." This means a person who God has not touched by His Spirit and brought to life spiritually will be just as you describe yourself: without any spiritual awareness of any kind.
What a Christian means when he speaks of spiritual life and what a New Age pagan, or buddhist, or Muslim means are two very different things. According to the Bible, what spirituality these people may claim to have is a pale shadow of the spiritual life God gives when He regenerates a Hell-bound sinner.
Now I am getting confused. First you say that you cannot have any spiritual awareness without being touched by God’s spirit, and then you say that people of other faiths or none do have spirituality. And they do. They are spiritually aware. They may not know the power of the Holy spirit in their lives, but they still have spiritual awareness. My point is that unlike these non-Christians, I do not have any kind of spiritual awareness.
Sounds like you simply need to be "born again."
I thought I was born again, in 1974. But it made no difference to me.
I see. In other words, you'll only come to God on your terms, not His. If He doesn't give you the "spiritual experience" you want, well, then, you refuse to believe. There is a fundamental reversal of the dynamic between you and God in this. You would start your relationship with Him by giving Him demands. But who is God when this is the dynamic? Do you obey God, or does He obey you?
Your assumption that I will only come to God on my terms is quite wrong. If you knew the whole context of my search for God, you would understand. It is my assessment of my lack of knowledge of God that has made me wonder if the problem is my total lack of spiritual awareness. Maybe it is something else that is preventing me from knowing God. The trouble is, I have no idea what is preventing me from knowing God, and at the moment I am investigating the possibility that it might be a lack of spiritual awareness. To put it another way, maybe the reason why I am not aware of God is because I am spiritually blind, or whatever. But if I can find a different reason, and can do something to rectify the situation and find a way to get closer to God, then I will do it.
Spiritual "awareness," or spiritual life, comes after we exercise faith toward Christ as our Saviour and Lord. This is always the way of things for the Christian: First we believe and then we receive.
I repeat, I did have faith. But I still had no spiritual awareness. For me, spiritual awareness did not come after I exercised faith in Christ.
What do you think it means to "ask Jesus into your life"? Why do you think that the religious activities you list above can impart to you the spiritual life you need? Different Christians seem to believe that different things can help a person to know God better. That is why I listed the “religious activities.”
What does it mean to ask Jesus into my life? I was thinking of what some Christians call the sinner’s prayer. Asking for forgiveness. Handing my life over to God. Believing that I was saved.
Feelings, strong emotions, or passion are not the bedrock upon which the Christian faith rests. Certainly, walking with God may at times powerfully affect one's emotions, but feelings wax and wane and shift like waves of the sea. The changeable nature of emotion, therefore, disqualifies emotion as a basis for faith.
That is certainly the standard Christian response, that emotions are changeable but faith should be constant. In my case I cannot possibly base my faith on emotions or feelings, because I do not have emotions and feelings.
The first step toward "finding God" is simply to ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Be warned, though, that how He does this will not likely be via the means you expect or desire.
I have asked for God to be revealed to me. In whatever way God chooses to reveal. But nothing has happened.

I am trying to find out why my experience of becoming a Christian is so different from that of so many other people. I do not know if I am saved or not. What I do know is that I have no awareness of being saved. I prayed for forgiveness and to be accepted as a Christian. I have no idea if God has answered that prayer.

 

[drich0150]

My desire was to serve the greatest king. I am quite happy to do this in life. I would be happy to continue doing it after death, as well, but that is not essential for me. It is knowing and serving God in this life that is important to me. But without some kind of relationship with God, I cannot do that.

But you absolutely can serve, and not intimately know your master. In fact this is how the majority of Christianity works. We use the word "Relationship" to describe the role we take on as servants or Slaves. We don't mean to say we are on equal footing or expect a quid pro quo type of existence with God. As a servant we (Whomever wishes to express Love to God) have been given a task. "to seek and save the Lost through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ." (To teach the Gospel)
Brother if in your Heart you truly wish to serve then here is your opportunity. Anything you do to advance the great commission in the Name of God will be counted to you as service.

..And like any good slave/servant you don't have to "eat" at the masters table to do His good work.

Those who are first will be made last, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.. If you truly want to know God and have a relationship with him in the most complete sense of that word, then do what has been asked of you with all that you have been entrusted with.

I am surprised that a Christian asks what I want, other than a reward in heaven. I always thought that the potential for blessings started as soon as a person was accepted by God.

The reason I asked was because most of us have been perverted, by the "God is a wish granter/employer" Doctrine. In that if do ABC he will in return do XYZ, That is if you dot your i's and cross your T's along the way. Most of which is paid back to us 10 fold in Heaven. You have presented a very large list of "unpaid ABC's" and you seem to be expecting something, and since you took heaven out of the equation I had to ask.

"Blessings" are not a method of payment or reward. Blessings are better looked at as "talents" As in the parable of the Talents found in Matt 25. Or blessings could be considered responsibilities. We are "blessed" according to our how we manage what we have already been given. Those who are responsible with little can be trusted with much, and those who are not responsible with what they have, What they have will be taken and given to he who is responsible with much.

Like in your case for all that you have documented, what you have admitted in having, is an earnest desire to serve. If this is all you have, then put this desire to work for God. If you prove yourself responsible (with what you have) You Will Be Given More.

 

[andreha]

You say, quite rightly, that first a person has to accept Jesus Christ as their saviour. And then ask the Holy Spirit to lead them.

It has obviously "worked" for you. But it did not work for me. I accepted Jesus as my saviour, and I asked the Holy Spirit to lead me. But nothing happened, nothing changed, there were no awesome things. I was not aware of the Holy Spirit at all. And I am trying to find out why it failed to happen for me, when it has obviously happened for so many other people. If you have any insight and truth from the Holy Spirit about that, I would be delighted, and maybe eternally grateful.

Well, He taught me that it is vitally important to yield to His will. And that is done by sincerely declaring that you yield you mind, body, heart and sould to Him, out loud. By doing that, and inviting Him to take full leadership of us in life, and asking Him to lead, guide, and shape us. And doing that, sincerely, everyday. It may take a day, week, year or whatever, but He will most certainly, at some point start revealing Himself more and more. The key is asking, humbly, sincerely, without stopping. He is very gentle. His kindness and the warmth of His love is awesome. Just persist. Don't give up.

 

[losthope]

Well, He taught me that it is vitally important to yield to His will. And that is done by sincerely declaring that you yield you mind, body, heart and sould to Him, out loud. By doing that, and inviting Him to take full leadership of us in life, and asking Him to lead, guide, and shape us. And doing that, sincerely, everyday. It may take a day, week, year or whatever, but He will most certainly, at some point start revealing Himself more and more. The key is asking, humbly, sincerely, without stopping. He is very gentle. His kindness and the warmth of His love is awesome. Just persist. Don't give up.

I wish I could share your confidence. But I cannot. I have asked for God to lead my life, many times. With no response that I am aware of. It is sad but I have too many years of experience of praying and not receiving any response. I have not given up as such, but I do know that there is no point going again down the roads that led nowhere. That means that I am unable (and I do NOT mean unwilling) to pray sincerely, because I know from long experience that my prayers are unlikely to be answered. Of course, there could always be a first time, but I do not hold out much hope. Two years ago I was able to pray as you say, and I did, for as long as I could manage it. Nothing happened, and eventually I had to give up. At this stage I am not expecting such a "window of opportunity" to open again.