How would you answer these questions?

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AJ85

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  1. If someone is a former Christian and says"I never felt God in my life. I prayed. I tryed, but nothing happend. I finally realized I was talking to someone who wasn’t there."
  2. If someone says they have never felt God call them. They might say"If God doesn’t call me, he either doesn’t care about me or he isn’t there."
    How should I answer these?
 
Elijah felt the same way… maybe they need to listen much closer… in 1 Kings chapter 19 we read:

11 Then the LORD said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD–but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake–but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was fire–but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
 
AJ85 said:
  1. If someone is a former Christian and says"I never felt God in my life. I prayed. I tryed, but nothing happend. I finally realized I was talking to someone who wasn’t there."
  2. If someone says they have never felt God call them. They might say"If God doesn’t call me, he either doesn’t care about me or he isn’t there."
    How should I answer these?
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  1. A physical feeling is hardly the standard by which to judge the existence and presence of God. Just the same, perhaps you were praying for things that it was not the will of God that you should have. God is not our magical genie, granting us whatever we ask for.
  2. If at any point, you felt in the least bit prompted to pray or go to church or seek God in any more, that’s God calling you. Again, just because it’s not an overwhelming, intense experience does not mean He wasn’t calling you. Sometimes God whispers rather than yelling.
    I don’t know if either of these arguments will hold any water with the person you’re talking to, but they’re just my two cents.
 
ladylinguist said:
  1. A physical feeling is hardly the standard by which to judge the existence and presence of God. Just the same, perhaps you were praying for things that it was not the will of God that you should have. God is not our magical genie, granting us whatever we ask for.
  2. If at any point, you felt in the least bit prompted to pray or go to church or seek God in any more, that’s God calling you. Again, just because it’s not an overwhelming, intense experience does not mean He wasn’t calling you. Sometimes God whispers rather than yelling.
    I don’t know if either of these arguments will hold any water with the person you’re talking to, but they’re just my two cents.
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👍

Those are the realities that people sadly miss. This is exactly why there are so many pop-up “feel good” churches out there today. The service uses the senses to stimulate and motivate the congregation be it in music, decor, lighting, or preaching.

That is also why many Catholics say “I don’t get anything out of the Mass,” or “it’s booring.” They are looking for God to appear above the altar with all of the heavenly hosts and give them instruction. (Actually that is what happens but we don’t see it with our eyes.)

Counter those statements by asking them how did God reveal His Son to us? Did he suddenly appear with blaring trumpets and an army of angels to free the world? No, he was born, meek and humble in a smelly stable. That is also why many followers of Jesus left him when they realized he wasn’t going to end poverty and free them of Roman rule. They didn’t hear his real message that was taught quietly and gently by word and actions.
 
I know that when I am in God’s will He seems closer to me. Like right after confession. That little voice in your head, your conscience, that’s God trying to get you to do the right thing.

When someone that has been far from God for a long time starts questioning these types of things, it is a good thing. It shows that they are willing to open up to God if He would just show them something. It is natural in our own arrogant nature to want to have someone take the first step toward reconciling a relationship. But if we are truly contrite, and confess we have not been as close to God as we should and confess our sins, He will give you a closer relationship.
 
I think somtimes poeple think that God is not there because they do not get an answer right away. The truth is God never leaves us, somtimes we leave God. Anyway I always suggest praying. I know that I felt this way alot of times. But I know that praying really helps.
 
AJ85 said:
  1. If someone is a former Christian and says"I never felt God in my life. I prayed. I tryed, but nothing happend. I finally realized I was talking to someone who wasn’t there."
  2. If someone says they have never felt God call them. They might say"If God doesn’t call me, he either doesn’t care about me or he isn’t there."
    How should I answer these?
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1 - Many people seem to say that, but I believe in order to pray and “feel” God through those prayers, one must be in communion with God, His Church, His Blessed Mother and all of the saints to the best of their ability and one must be leading or at least attempting to lead a holy life. One cannot pray for a month, a year or even two and expect miracles to happen. God works in his own time. I believe it is a slow and deliberate journey to feeling God in our lives, not a wham-bam hit me between the eyes expierience like some church’s would have you believe.

2 - We live in a world where it is very hard to hear God calling us. There is to much noise in our lives today, 24 hr TV, computers, i-pods, blackberries etc, that we just don’t shut down and listen enough. I believe He has a reason and a calling for all of us, but most of us are not disposed well enough to hear Him.

Live a holy life, pray fervently, and then just be quiet. You will hear Him!🙂
 
AJ85 said:
  1. If someone is a former Christian and says"I never felt God in my life. I prayed. I tryed, but nothing happend. I finally realized I was talking to someone who wasn’t there."
  2. If someone says they have never felt God call them. They might say"If God doesn’t call me, he either doesn’t care about me or he isn’t there."
    How should I answer these?
Click to expand...
If they are willing, get them a copy of Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To by Anthony DeStefano. Then, wait.

amazon.com/Ten-Prayers-God-Always-Says/dp/0385509901
 
AJ85 said:
  1. If someone is a former Christian and says"I never felt God in my life. I prayed. I tryed, but nothing happend. I finally realized I was talking to someone who wasn’t there."
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I would ask them to share their testimony.

The Bible talks a lot about false converts and, many times, their testimony will reveal that they were never born again in the first place.
  1. If someone says they have never felt God call them. They might say"If God doesn’t call me, he either doesn’t care about me or he isn’t there."
    How should I answer these?
Click to expand...
The book of Romans tells us that God has given every man a conscience so that he can know that he’s broken the Creator’s laws. I would point out that this is one way that God calls us.
 
AJ85 said:
  1. If someone is a former Christian and says"I never felt God in my life. I prayed. I tryed, but nothing happend. I finally realized I was talking to someone who wasn’t there."
  2. If someone says they have never felt God call them. They might say"If God doesn’t call me, he either doesn’t care about me or he isn’t there."
    How should I answer these?
Click to expand...
well i would not offer an answer at all except to that person if they asked me directly, but I would probably say 1) God is not a feeling and His omnipresence is eternal and not dependent on our subjective feelings. We can trust his own revelation that he is indeed present and acting in our lives at all times. I would then try to direct them to sound Christian spiritual guidance and direction.
  1. I would say God has called, you did not answer because He did not ask in a way you expected, what you expected, or because what he asked conflicts with your own desires and plans.
to both people I would say, keep praying, remain faithful. It matters not a whit whether you feel God’s presence, whether your life is fufulling, it matters only that you pray to him daily and that you are faithful to his commandments.
 
Personally, I would tell them my own witness story and how God has been physically and spiritually present in my life. I have lots of those kinds of stories to share with them when it comes to these situations. Hopefully, my witness stories would plant a seed in them…that might hopefully bear fruit with the help of the Holy Spirit. And then I would end my story with a prayer for them so that they would be able to experience the same thing with God’s help and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 
AJ85 said:
  1. If someone is a former Christian and says"I never felt God in my life. I prayed. I tryed, but nothing happend. I finally realized I was talking to someone who wasn’t there."
  2. If someone says they have never felt God call them. They might say"If God doesn’t call me, he either doesn’t care about me or he isn’t there."
    How should I answer these?
Click to expand...
I was asked those things the other day by a young man who was feeling rather down about the way things were going in his life. In his case it really was just a matter of the impatience of youth as he struggled with the relationship with his girlfriend so I found I didn’t get into any real depth in my response.

I did notice that I tend to respond with the “if you don’t feel Him in your life that’s on you, not Him” and then I go on to show the various examples of God being in their lives over the years. If I don’t know them that well then I ask leading questions about troubles they’ve encountered in their past and how it was resolved. In the telling of the story I’m able to see God’s hand in the matter and point those moments out to the person. That is how I prove God was always there but they were not able or willing to see it.

I then go on to lead them to recognize that the reason they couldn’t see or feel him at the time is because they were so determined to stand alone. Even though they prayed to him, they were setting limits on how he should respond so that when he responded a different way they didn’t see it and missed the boat. That’s when I share this joke with them. That always seems to get the person’s attention from two angles, it shows that God uses each of us to show he exists to those who seek him out and it shows how our stubborness can interefere with our ability to see him or feel his presence.
 
Ours isn’t a *feel good *religion but a *do good *religion - one look at a Crucifix should pretty well settle that question. Do we aren’t called to feel good though some of the feelings associated with practicing our religion do feel pretty good!

If the person asking you those two questions was serious, I would just sit back and pray for their return. It sounds as if the person who asked them is in despair not only of faith, but of the very existence of God. And that, my friend is certainly a matter for prayers and patience. We can evangelize “louder” with our example sometimes then we can with our words. If your friend sees your practice and perseverance in the face of his or her despair, it will have an effect, whether you actually see it or hear of it in the immediate future or not.

To further questioning I would simple say, “Well, I BELIEVE!” and it won’t seem so necessary that your friend do the same.

Peace,

Gail
 
I’d question their authenticity, to be honest, then I’d ask if they went to confession, if no, then they can’t have expected God to walk all the way. :):cool:
 
I would stress the love, kindness, service and sacrifice of Jesus. Only through such commitment to humanity can Man’s fallen nature be mitigated to not produce untold suffering.
 
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