How can I find spiritual awareness?

[losthope]

Page 4 post #39 was where is was taken. this is not the only time your philosophy was mentioned.

I have stepped out in faith more than once, and landed flat on my nose. Doing that again is clearly not the way for me, though I do not know why. I just do not not know how to find God. That is why I asked about spiritual awareness, in case a lack of spiritual awareness was in some way making a barrier between God and me.

It may be possible for you to serve God without having a relationship with God. But I am not interested in doing the same.

God has dictated the terms or nature of the relationship you are to start out with Him. You have decided that these terms are unacceptable, and are holding out for a relationship on your terms..

One more time, how is that not pride? Before you answer with another version of "I have misunderstood your position" Take the time as I have and explain your terminology and meanings include scripture to back your theology, and walk me through your thought process. Show me logically and specifically where I am in error as I have done for you.

I have re-read all of post #39, and cannot see why you think that I have been insisting on a sense of spiritual awareness before being willing to serve or worship God. So I cannot give you a logical or Biblical explanation of this "demand" of mine, and why it does not involve pride, because there is no such demand. All I have done is to explore one of the possible barriers that prevent me reaching God, or that prevent God reaching me.

You have replied by suggesting that my apparent lack of spiritual awareness is not what is causing a barrier between God and me, and suggested that the barrier must be something else - such as pride. You may be right, you may be wrong. If in the future I become aware of my pride as a barrier, I will act appropriately.

 

[losthope]

Christianity is not about spiritual awareness. However, the Holy Spirit may visit you from time to time to guide you.

A brilliant response. I hope that you are right.

 

[drich0150]

If in the future I become aware of my pride as a barrier, I will act appropriately.

Good luck and may God Help you find what it is your heart truly seeks.

 

[ephraimanesti]

MY DEAR BROTHER,

Received the attached in my Email this morning and thought i would pass it along:

GOD AWARENESS
Written by the Very Rev. Vladimir Berzonsky​

"I was asleep, but my heart was awake. Listen, a sound! My lover is knocking!" (Song of Songs 5:2)

For serious Christians the brief love story in the Old Testament called Song of Songs contains the most intense clues to the way to get in touch with the living Lord Almighty.

One such phrase is the above: I was asleep, but my heart was awake. Even while we are sleeping, we are not dead to the presence of the Holy Spirit who being "everywhere present and fillest all things" prays for us and makes it possible to stay in touch with the Holy Trinity. Awake or asleep, we keep the channels of grace open. One way to practice God awareness is by reciting brief prayers, such as "Lord have mercy," or "Lord Jesus, be with me." The desert fathers speak of throwing darts at heaven. It's not so much the words, but that the channels of communication remain open between the Lord and your heart. And you will know it by the feeling of inner warmth that may come upon you.

"My lover is knocking!" Think of the words of Lord Jesus: "I stand at the door and knock." The Lord is outside the door of our heart waiting to be invited in. Our God is so respectful of our freedom that He never goes where He is not wanted, not even when He knows it is always in our best interests. We may treat one another with intimidation, force, cajoling or deception. God never does that. He patiently knocks, waiting to be welcomed.

You may say that you never heard Him. Why didn't He knock louder, shout, or make some sound that would make it clear it was He, not a natural noise. Yet there are many through the centuries who have heard Him in the wind, the storm, the thunder, even in the rustle of leaves or song of the birds. Were they right? Perhaps -- at least the Psalmist thought so: "The voice of the Lord is over the waters, the God of glory thunders...The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars...The voice of the Lord shakes the desert...The voice of the Lord twists the oaks..." (Psalm 29).

Monastics and others listen for His voice in the sounds of silence. It takes an enormous effort to shut out the clamor of the world; however, even the best earphones BOSE manufactures will not tune out the whispers of guilt when you find a quiet place, or the voiceless shouts from those in your life past or present who invade your stillness and demand to be heard. It takes a mighty effort marinated in baptismal grace to separate your conscience from their calls. The mind remembers events, not so much dates. What caused emotional impacts from the past constantly bubble up to the surface of consciousness? It's not impossible to separate one's thought from them, but it requires an enormous spiritual effort. We are people of passion living in a passion-filled time. We are taught by society to "Let it all out," to consider self-control less human than emotional eruptions. Orthodox Christian spirituality requires the opposite.

Inner serenity calls for dispassion. The Holy Spirit will be with you if your intent is to struggle against all the passions that invade your consciousness and thwart you from achieving peace of soul. The church fathers realize and write about the effort it will take to gain control of your thoughts, or better stated, to battle and conquer the demons that control you and contain you in the prison of your mind. It's a heroic struggle, but if you feel it's all for nothing, an impossible attempt, you are what you are and cannot change, then you are beaten already.

On the other hand, if you only consider the prize, you will pursue the goal and make the effort happily. It is Christ Himself who is outside the door of your heart waiting to be invited in. Until you find the knob, you will not be able to receive Him into the living room of your soul, and unless you do, you will never know true freedom.

---------------------------------------------------------------​

Also, i would submit that you might consider changing your screen name if you expect any positive results to your efforts to find He Who eagerly awaits you.

WITH LOVE IN CHRIST,
ephraim

 

[bluelime2]

I haven't read this whole thread so forgive me if this has already been posted. But if you want an awareness of spiritual things (which I assume means God and his working) why don't you ask him for it?

 

[losthope]

I haven't read this whole thread so forgive me if this has already been posted. But if you want an awareness of spiritual things (which I assume means God and his working) why don't you ask him for it?

I have asked, more than once. Still waiting for the reply.

 

[acorn_777]

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.

I have read a good bit of what you have posted here losthope and I have a question regarding this one statement.

In what way do you not know God? You have said that you basically were a Christian since 66'; and I am sure you have read the Gospels, and the Bible.

If I read about a person on the internet, just viewing their writings, I would begin to know someone. We can know many things about someone through reading about them.

This statement caught my attention, and caused me to wonder what it is that is the deeper bother for you. I don't believe that you don't have faith, or else you wouldn't be searching for answers about faith. I also don't believe you have no spiritual feeling within you because of the example you gave of the widow's mite. That in itself displays an essence of spirituality.

I think you have come to learn that God is not real, and you now in order to come back to the faith have to unlearn that. You are actually in the right place, but the best place is to really do a self examination of your entire being. You seem like a decent fellow, and I am sure you are happy with your ethical/moral stance in life.

the only gap it seems from what I gather is that you see no communication from God to you. Well, you are not alone. God is not at WalMart grocery shopping for Armageddon. He is not sited such as the Loch. He is not in saucers flying in space having pictures taking of him. And lastly, he is not like anything you will ever in your physical life be likely to see and comprehend.

We pray, and that all we can do. It is very obvious that literally speaking we can't ask to move a mountain and it obeys our command, like Luke Skywalker.

There is no force. But, there is prayer, and God can move mountains of pain, weakness, sickness, troubles in life, and I believe even silence.

I know you have prayed relentlessly, but let the simple acknowledgment that there are many others around you that do have an unbroken silence with God be a witness to you, and have faith that the testimony of those that do say that they have commune with God are being true, also take in consideration that there are those that just pray, all day and night, and don't cease, probably never feeling any other physical attribute other than the sweat of their palms and the redness of their knees, but acknowledge God as their God.

That is really what it comes down to losthope, just the simple acknowledgment that God is your God, and nothing will break that. We all fail, and we all go through horrific things in life, but we all have the options to take different paths.

I hope you see some light in this post.

 

[losthope]

I have read a good bit of what you have posted here losthope and I have a question regarding this one statement. "Certainly it is impossible for me to love God, because I could not possibly love someone I do not know."

In what way do you not know God? You have said that you basically were a Christian since 66'; and I am sure you have read the Gospels, and the Bible.

If I read about a person on the internet, just viewing their writings, I would begin to know someone. We can know many things about someone through reading about them.

This statement caught my attention, and caused me to wonder what it is that is the deeper bother for you. I don't believe that you don't have faith, or else you wouldn't be searching for answers about faith. I also don't believe you have no spiritual feeling within you because of the example you gave of the widow's mite. That in itself displays an essence of spirituality.

I think you have come to learn that God is not real, and you now in order to come back to the faith have to unlearn that. You are actually in the right place, but the best place is to really do a self examination of your entire being. You seem like a decent fellow, and I am sure you are happy with your ethical/moral stance in life.

the only gap it seems from what I gather is that you see no communication from God to you. Well, you are not alone. God is not at WalMart grocery shopping for Armageddon. He is not sited such as the Loch. He is not in saucers flying in space having pictures taking of him. And lastly, he is not like anything you will ever in your physical life be likely to see and comprehend.

We pray, and that all we can do. It is very obvious that literally speaking we can't ask to move a mountain and it obeys our command, like Luke Skywalker.

There is no force. But, there is prayer, and God can move mountains of pain, weakness, sickness, troubles in life, and I believe even silence.

I know you have prayed relentlessly, but let the simple acknowledgment that there are many others around you that do have an unbroken silence with God be a witness to you, and have faith that the testimony of those that do say that they have commune with God are being true, also take in consideration that there are those that just pray, all day and night, and don't cease, probably never feeling any other physical attribute other than the sweat of their palms and the redness of their knees, but acknowledge God as their God.

That is really what it comes down to losthope, just the simple acknowledgment that God is your God, and nothing will break that. We all fail, and we all go through horrific things in life, but we all have the options to take different paths.

I hope you see some light in this post.

Thank you for your contribution. You put forward some interesting ideas. However, you seem to have made some inaccurate assumptions about me. I do not know why you write that I said I was basically a Christian since 1966. In fact I do not know if I am saved, or not. I was not saved in 1966. Maybe I was saved in 1974, or maybe not. Only God would know the answer to that question.

You also say that you believe that I have faith, and that I have spiritual feeling. You are wrong on both counts. Just because I choose to illustrate my condition with a Bible story (for the benefit of Christians who may read what I write), that does not mean that I have spiritual feeling.

I agree that there are many people who are happy to call themselves Christians and have only experienced an unbroken silence from God. If they are prepared to continue with that situation, that is their choice. It is not my choice. For me, being a believer is about having a personal relationship with God. That is what the Bible promises and I am not prepared to settle for anything less than what the Bible promises.

It seems to me that a person’s beliefs have to fulfil their deepest needs. Some people’s deepest need may be to believe in something no matter what, and they can go on believing and praying even when the only response is silence. I am not such a person. My deepest need was to serve God, and to do that I needed to know what God wanted me to do. To know what God wanted me personally to do; I am not talking about the general guidance that comes from the Bible. To do that, I need some kind of feedback from God. In other words, a relationship. Without such a relationship it is not possible for me to say that God is my God, because if God cannot fulfil my deepest needs then God is not my God.

Unfortunately I do not know God. Of course I can learn about God from reading the Bible, and from what Christians tell me. But that is very different from knowing God in a personal way.

I am not sure why I do not know God. One possibility is that in order to know God you need spiritual awareness, and I lack spiritual awareness (not just my personal opinion – I have had many people confirm it when they speak with me). That is why I asked the original question, in the hope that someone might be able to guide me towards finding spiritual awareness, as a step towards finding God. However, so far nobody has suggested a way of finding spiritual awareness. Instead they tell me either that I already have spiritual awareness (which I do not agree with) or that spiritual awareness is not needed (which negates my original question).

 

[ephraimanesti]

It seems to me that a person’s beliefs have to fulfil their deepest needs. Some people’s deepest need may be to believe in something no matter what, and they can go on believing and praying even when the only response is silence. I am not such a person. My deepest need was to serve God, and to do that I needed to know what God wanted me to do. To know what God wanted me personally to do; I am not talking about the general guidance that comes from the Bible. To do that, I need some kind of feedback from God. In other words, a relationship. Without such a relationship it is not possible for me to say that God is my God, because if God cannot fulfil my deepest needs then God is not my God.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

You must be getting seriously dizzy by now going around and around in circles and all. You have painted yourself into a corner and become trapped in a Catch 22 mind-set--with a little help from the adversary, of course. To wit:

#1. You desire God to "fulfill your deepest needs."

#2. Your "deepest need", which your Creator has hardwired into your heart, is to worship Him. (YES, it is the same for EVERYONE; NO, there are no "special instructions" or "burning bushes" for you personally and uniquely to follow--SAME FOR ALL--"Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the first and greatest Commandment." (Matthew 22:37)

#3. You feel unable to worship Him because "He hasn't fulfilled your deepest need."

Makes me dizzy to contemplate it!

Your problem?--terminal uniqueness in your own eyes.

The antidote and solution to your quandry?--humility.

Stop allowing the adversary to engage and entangle you with mind games--AND GET ON WITH IT, FOR GOODNESS SAKES!

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

 

[losthope]

Ephraimanesti wrote: "Stop allowing the adversary to engage and entangle you with mind games--AND GET ON WITH IT, FOR GOODNESS SAKES!"

Get on with what?

 

[ephraimanesti]

Ephraimanesti wrote: "Stop allowing the adversary to engage and entangle you with mind games--AND GET ON WITH IT, FOR GOODNESS SAKES!"

Get on with what?

MY FRIEND,

Get on with what you claim you wish to be doing but can't because God hasn't personally asked you to do so yet.

LOVE

and

SERVE!​

ephraim

 

[acorn_777]

Ephraimanesti wrote: "Stop allowing the adversary to engage and entangle you with mind games--AND GET ON WITH IT, FOR GOODNESS SAKES!"

Get on with what?

I think he means that you already know what you need to do based on your writings here. I saw him saying that you find a uniqueness about you, but we are all in the same nestle of love by God, and Christ. Uniqueness is good, and I felt he was saying that you should just concentrate on serving God.

That may sound bold to you, and you may also be frustrated by this response, but what was said makes good sense. The information of adversary is sometimes negate. There is truth in the Bible losthope, and if you so dare to trust that Christ is a real person, and the Son of God, and put all the other offerings aside, then you may experience that spiritual awareness. If someone is sleeping, they are not aware of their surroundings, but if they are awake, focused, in momentum, they are able to be aware.

Maybe spiritual awareness is not the problem here, maybe one has to awake to possibly be able to even be aware. There is a thing as spiritual sleep, which could film over the effectiveness of even peoples words.

I say that because you say that the Bible as well as people can't give you what you feel you need. You say a relationship is what you want??

Do you believe that you can have a relationship with God?

I really feel like you are waiting for God to speak to you, or show you a sign that he is real. Christ said that there would be no signs.

Furthermore, Jesus warned us that if there are people that showed signs, they wouldn't be from God. Look into Matthew where Christ said there would be great signs, and the spirit of false prophets that could fool the elect.

Mt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

So, a sign in that nature the people asked for in Christ's time would be of that equivalent.

I do have another question for you. If God is real, and satan is real, and they both can provide signs that could compel people to believe or deceive; and God says there will be no more signs, and warns that there will be great signs and wonders from false Christs and prophets(which have already happened), then who will most likely be administering signs 2000 years after Christs death?

I also will say that right now as we speak, there are false signs occurring in other faiths. Todd Bentley and his angel Emma is one example. Google it.

 

[ephraimanesti]

You have replied by suggesting that my apparent lack of spiritual awareness is not what is causing a barrier between God and me, and suggested that the barrier must be something else - such as pride. You may be right, you may be wrong. If in the future I become aware of my pride as a barrier, I will act appropriately.

MY FRIEND,

The problem is, of course, that pride, by its very nature, precludes its self-discovery. As James states, "Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." (James 1:23, 24) This is your primary problem.

In order for you to "act appropriately" you need to HUMBLY begin at the beginning, putting aside, for the moment, your prideful desire for "signs and wonders" in the form of personal revelations from God and simply follow directions like the rest of Abba's kids:

"Then they asked Him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?'

"Jesus answered, 'THE WORK OF GOD IS THIS: TO BELIEVE IN THE ONE HE HAS SENT.' " (John 6:28, 29)

BE BLESSED!

A BOND-SLAVE OF CHRIST,
ephraim

 

[losthope]

To acorn 777 and ephraimanesti,

You both seem to think that I am waiting for a sign, or signs and wonders. That is not what I am waiting for. I do not specify what might happen, to bring me to God. That is up to God to choose. It could simply be a way for me to put the past aside and trust again. Or some information that has helped other people in a situation similar to mine. What I do know is that it is not right for me to simply put my trust in God and try to do God's will. Twice I have tried that approach; twice it has collapsed in failure. If I am to find God, then I need God's spirit to guide me in some way. I am not asking for anything outrageous. I am only askiing for what many Christians take for granted, what is described in the Bible as happening to people in order for them to come to God, and what the Bible promises for the believer.

 

[Lukaris]

To acorn 777 and ephraimanesti,

You both seem to think that I am waiting for a sign, or signs and wonders. That is not what I am waiting for. I do not specify what might happen, to bring me to God. That is up to God to choose. It could simply be a way for me to put the past aside and trust again. Or some information that has helped other people in a situation similar to mine. What I do know is that it is not right for me to simply put my trust in God and try to do God's will. Twice I have tried that approach; twice it has collapsed in failure. If I am to find God, then I need God's spirit to guide me in some way. I am not asking for anything outrageous. I am only askiing for what many Christians take for granted, what is described in the Bible as happening to people in order for them to come to God, and what the Bible promises for the believer.

I have only read parts of a long thread & if what I say is redundant or obvious forgive me but....have you tried to fully understand living faith is having some prayer life with a focus on intercessory prayer in unconditional love for others by praying (& praying in the pattern of) the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). It is from this expression that we receive grace in which we are saved but as we live it must be fueled by good works (see Ephesians 2:8-10) according to as our Lord commands (see Mark 12:28-34 but read all of Mark 12) which gives us what we need to confess our faith and our confession of faith gives us salvation (see Romans 10:9-13 & read all of Romans 10). You may have already done all of this in your life but have you thought it all out & linked it together? And believe me, I am just a sinner not trying to boast but communicate what i understand of what the Lord requires of us. Also keep the 2 great commands, the golden rule, & the 10 commandments always in focus (never forget 'em even briefly).

 

[ephraimanesti]

What I do know is that it is not right for me to simply put my trust in God and try to do God's will.

MY BROTHER,

Unfortunately, that is the price of admission to the Kingdom. Until you can surrender to this absolute need for faith and trust in God, and for doing His Will simply because it is HIS Will, nothing will ever change for you, spiritually speaking.

Perhaps Paul had you in mind when he wrote,

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.'

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." (I Corinthians 1:18-25)

OR, more simply put by our Lord Himself--"I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." (Luke 18:17)

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

 

[freeport]

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.

You wouldn't know if you really lacked strong emotions. Emotions are rarely really detected by people.


Life is beyond strong emotions. The wicked who are dead have "strong emotions", but it is an illusion.

 

[ephraimanesti]

You wouldn't know if you really lacked strong emotions. Emotions are rarely really detected by people.

Life is beyond strong emotions. The wicked who are dead have "strong emotions", but it is an illusion.

ALSO--emotions are nothing but chemical reactions in the body triggered by thought process in the brain--both of which are of the flesh--thus subject to manipulation by the adversary and the materialistic world around us, and have nothing whatever to do with spiritual issues such as Faith, Love (agape, that is), Hope and, of course, the Fruits of the Spirit such as Faithfulness, Peace, Patience, etc.

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

 

[ephraimanesti]

To acorn 777 and ephraimanesti,

You both seem to think that I am waiting for a sign, or signs and wonders. That is not what I am waiting for. I do not specify what might happen, to bring me to God. That is up to God to choose.

MY DEAR BROTHER,

God HAS chosen but you are not satisfied--THAT is what this whole Thread is about and THAT is the stumbling block which is keeping you from making any progress in your attempts at a Spiritual Walk.

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

 

[losthope]

MY DEAR BROTHER,

God HAS chosen but you are not satisfied--THAT is what this whole Thread is about and THAT is the stumbling block which is keeping you from making any progress in your attempts at a Spiritual Walk.
QUOTE]

I am still confused. What has God chosen for me? I am not aware of it, and I do not know what you are referring to when you mention the stumbling block.