Need help finding my way

I have lost my faith in God many years ago. The reasons are unimportant. But I am now asking myself if there is God, how I might be able to reconnect with him. Is there anyone here who can help me?

Hello John. The fact that you are here asking about God, says to me that God is working on your heart.

I've never done this before - reaching out to anonymous people online asking for advice. But I feel so lost. I don't know what to or where to turn to of if there is anyone I can speak to.

I have to admit, I'm not the best at how to approach someone. I can provide the logical, scientific and other arguements, but I think ultimately... if a person is open to the idea, they will find God, or God will find them. I think generally it is both. Having said that, what I see before my eyes is God working on the heart of a man. This man feels God working within him, and is opening his eyes and looking around after a long slumber... peeking through his eyes asking, "what? whose there?" If you peek around a little longer, I think you'll find God standing directly in front of you. He's been staring at you the entire time, patiently waiting...

I have engaged in many debates and arguments with religious people over the years, arguing for the non-existence of God. But I do not want to argue today. For the first time in a long time, I am willing to just listen. Perhaps you can give me those arguments for the existence of God.

Seeing as you've already argued against the typical arguements... an orthodox approach would not be wise.

So I simply ask. Have you ever thought about what it actually means, to live?

If you don't really have lot of faith on god. Well, maybe start going to chruch and pray. Maybe even put a picture of jesus as a reminder. Me and my family forgot to go to chruch , now we don't go to chruch , but I want to go to chruch now.

To me, living simply meant taking it one day at a time, trying to achieve my goals; whether those goals are to either get to a meeting on time or whether it is more long-term and simply doing the best that I can.

To what avail?

To what avail? For many years, there has been no goal I set for beyond living itself. As I considered there to be no life beyond this own, it was simply to live. To cherish this life as much as I could, to live simply for the sake of living and to find as much answers and happiness as possible before passing them on before I die. That can't be so bad, no?

Have you not considered, that if you have but only one life.... nothing else after that... that to live life, is not to attend quarterly meetings on the status of a company. It's not to live life aimlessly day to day. For that would be a waste, walking through life.... really not much different from a zombie walks down the street. A rather mechanical manner.

If there is no God, there is no real meaning to life. Life is an accident. Life becomes a traumatic struggle to live, only to be defeated. There is no avail to living to be happy without a God. For ultimately, it is fruitless.

Johnlee, hello welcome to christian chat, bless you.

I am intimately familiar with Christian theology. So before someone tells me to accept Jesus as my lord and savior, how do I even begin to go about feeling God's presence?

This comes from Yahoo! Answers. I don't think I could have said anything as good as this though. Hopefully someone else can expand upon it.

Originaly link: How to feel God's presence? - Yahoo! Answers

In response to your original post, you had said that you wanted to reconnect to God, so I understand that you had once been connected to Him.
Sometimes it's so hard to see, especially when we are searching so hard sometimes I think it helps to step back. Pause. Look outside ourselves. Sometimes changing our perspective helps us see things that we had been unable to see close up.
In that vein, and after prayer, I felt that maybe this video would help in some way. It has a wonderful message, and can help change our viewpoint outwardly so maybe we can see easier what had been so close to us all along.
If this helps in any way, Praise God. If there is any other way I can help, please let me know.
I appreciate you joining Christian Chat. God has promised us in Hebrews 13:5 -- 5. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "I will never leave you, never will I forsake you".
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AkNqLuVgY[/video]

First, I LOVE THAT SONG! Brandon Heath is wonderful <3

Now, I just want to say that connecting with God is simple, and VERY possible! There is never a "too late" when it comes to being in a relationship with the loving God. I know you didn't say the reasons for why you lost your faith, but I can say without a doubt that whatever may have happened, was satans way of trying to get you to fall away from God, and unfortunately it worked! But God will always be greater than satan, the evil one. all you have to do is believe that God sent his son to die for YOUR sins, so you could go to heaven and live with Him for eternity!
But connecting with God is much more than just saying you believe. It is, first believing, than showing your faith through a transformation through your lifestyle.
If you truly want to connect with God, read the Bible! I know this may seem scary and intimidating, or even just plain boring, but honestly if you open your heart and dive into God's word, you will be amazed at what you read. I suggest starting with the Gospel of John, and then reading the other three Gospels, (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) then eventually continuing through the whole new testament. the old testament is wonderful and interesting too! but i would wait until you are very familiar with the new testament before moving to the old.
Praying for you!

hey! hey! heeeey! whats up bro????? dont be sooo dooowwwn ..... be happy and AWESOME! do what I did when I was mega doubting mah-self.... I surrendered all my sins sorrows and burdens to Jesus Christ and guess what happened?!? I found true unconditional love! so dude just let him work from your inner core, when you realize that he has BEEN loving you it will make the difference in your life once you accept him as your lord and savior! XD

Just never give up,he loves you.

Welcome to CC, Johnlee1013.

The Lord loves us and can be trusted. Follow him.

My own two cents,

God is a person. So naturally you get to know him (or "reconnect" with him) just like any other person. You talk to him, listen to what he has to say, spend time with his people (fellow Christians), and obey him.

Granted, God is a person unlike all other persons. But God is, so to speak, the archetypal person. So there are points of analogy, but also points of disanalogy. You can't touch God like you can touch most other persons if they are in your poximity. Most people focus on the disanalogy and get themselves really confused about how they know God. They'll think something like "But if I can't touch God how can I know him like other persons?!" Well you can't touch me either (or see me or smell me... which is your loss). But it doesn't need to be that complicated. The basic *way* you know God is the same basic way you know other persons.

And just like any relationship there are things which draw us together and things which draw us apart. Sin separates us from God. It's a wrench in the relationship. Sin doesn't just put us at odds with God relationally, it also puts us at odds with God epistemically. "Reconnecting" with God will involve dealing with that wrench. As you know, God has already dealt with this problem and you only need to respond appropriately to it.

From an epistemic standpoint, if you're finding it hard to believe, be like the father why cried out "help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24).

Just like with any person, we don't always "feel God's presence." Think about the people you met today. Did you get a tingly sensation each time you met them or interacted with them? I doubt it. As you read this (if you do) you and I are communicating. But I doubt I'm giving you a tingly sensation... I hope I'm not anyway.

I wouldn't be focused on working up feelings if I were you. If you had a wife and your love life started going dry it wouldn't do you much good to close your eyes, hold your breath, and try real hard to make the "love" sensation pop into you. That's not how it works with real people, so why think it's how it works with God? If you want to rekindle your love life, spend time thinking about the person, what you like about them, what they do for you, spend time with them etc.