Hi again dogs4thewin;
Every one of us is unique even though God is always the same, so each of us will have different experiences with God through the same Spirit we receive through faith in Jesus Christ. I say this because I don't think you should expect the exact same experience as me or anyone else, yet I am confident that God will communicate His presence to you if you seek Him in faith.
For me, it all started with the Bible. I absolutely love to read, but I had never looked into religion in any way. When I was 27 my mom and dad got saved and bought me a Bible for Christmas... they didn't make a big deal out of it, but they did encourage me to read it. Being the avid reader that I was, I read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in a very short time. As I often did, once I finished it I re-read it. Usually, this would be the end of it and the book would sit on a shelf for years before being picked up again, if ever... but something compelled me, something I couldn't put my finger on, to continue to read the Bible. Over and over again. I didn't have much human interaction at the time, and no one encouraged me or discouraged me (aside from the occasional smile or grimace/rolling of the eyes I received when someone noticed I was reading the Bible in a public place).
As I continued to read, it became clear to me that the Bible was no ordinary book, it claimed to be the very word of God. I had all kinds of questions and things I didn't understand, but I was such an introverted loner that I couldn't bring myself to ask anyone these questions. So I turned to the radio while at work... I soon found a radio station that broadcast pastors teaching through the Bible verse by verse, book by book, a different pastor every half hour. I listened to it all the time, and it was amazing how God used this station... as I read something I didn't understand, or a question or objection would rise up about something, within a few days one of those pastors would be teaching about the very things that troubled me, providing the answer I needed.
This went on for about a year or more, and I gradually became convinced that what the Bible said was true. Finally, one night while I was working (I worked alone at the time) one of those pastors on the radio presented the gospel, and there at work I got on my knees and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I felt a great sense of relief, but nothing I would call spiritual, yet I am confident that I was saved that night.
So I continued on reading the Bible, listening to the radio, and praying, but I soon became sure that I needed to begin actually reaching out to other Christians. So I went to this really big church in town, and shortly after starting there I got baptized. When I was baptized, it was done before the congregation which numbered at least 500-600 people, and I was given a chance to say something to the congregation by the pastor. I had always been terrified of public speaking, yet God gave me the courage to speak that night in a clear and eloquent way, saying something that I now know the church desperately needed to hear. I still didn't feel anything that I would call spiritual, but I am sure that this is the first time that God's Spirit worked through me.
After a few months going there, I felt uncomfortable simply because the church was so big, with so many people there every Sunday... being the introverted, socially challenged cave dweller that I was, I felt the need to find a smaller church. At that time, I discovered that there was a church in the area that was affiliated with the radio station I had been listening to, so I went there for a midweek Bible study. As I was walking up the steps to the church, I felt a pure, clean, liquid white light rising up in my heart (it's the best I can explain it), and a quiet voice in my head said to me "This is home".
From that point on, that pure, clean, liquid white light feeling in my heart rose up in me whenever I prayed, no matter whether I was alone in my car driving around or sitting with other Christians in a prayer meeting. And more and more I experienced a still, small voice in my mind telling me things I needed to hear... so many times I learned things from that voice that there was no way I could know.
My story keeps going, but I wanted to share these things for you, so you can see how my relationship with God first developed. It all starts with believing that God is who He says He is and seeking Him consistently and sincerely, as Hebrews tells us:
Heb 11:6 NIV And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
I hope this helps you to get started.
