How do I truly begin to seek God?

Question

Lately my spiritual walk with the Lord hasn't been too great.

My pastor taught in his sermon last Sunday that you have to read your Bible and pray daily to get closer to the Lord. And that you need to truly seek him to find his blessings.

But he didn't exactly say HOW you should seek him.

What does it mean to seek God?
And how do you begin to do so?

-- And if you're an atheist, please refrain from answering.

Majeed: I was talking about Christianity, not Islam lol. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. It looks like most of you figured out what I meant, though.

Thanks to everyone who gave me a legit answer! :)

Answer 1

Posting your question is evidence that you've made an excellent start already.

The good news is that God is everywhere and wants you to know Him.

I will offer some ideas that come to the top of my head, with the most important ones first:

Ask God for help in seeking Him. A simple prayer, repeated at least daily: "God, please help me seek you well." And be patient.

Make yourself available to receive God's help when it comes. Look at the whole situation this way: It is not that *you* are making things happen but that you are actively working to make yourself available so that *God* can make things happen, so the He can work in and through you.

To make yourself available do things, some new, some old. Posting your question here was a grand thing to do. Sit in silence and listen. Read Scripture. Read biographies and autobiographies of people who have struggled with faith. Maybe read well-chosen novels, or poetry. Build or make something. There are many varieties of prayer -- learn about them and try them out.

One special kind of activity is to engage in active love -- i.e., be Christ-like to those you encounter (people you know, people you don't know), and ask for God's help in doing this. There are a bunch of distortions possible in active love (for just one example, trying to control others as an over-protective parent does) so be aware, perhaps chat with someone else about such things. C.S. Lewis discusses these pitfalls in his book "The Screwtape Letters" and in several of his essays. One particular form of active love may be forgiveness.

So my quick answer to your question is to ask God for help; in several ways actively make yourself available to receive the help; act based on the idea that *God*, not you, has the initiative and control; attempt active love; and be patient.

I have listed below some books I am working on right now. They are Eastern Orthodox, as am I.

C.S. Lewis of course is excellent.

Blessings upon you on The Way!

Answer 2

Okay. The idea of seeking is a bit difficult. I really didn't seek, but in my rather stumbling way through life I received. I sort of understand the process. Compare it to seeking water, in a desert. You have to prepare yourself. You need to be fit, knowledgeable, especially of the desert and you need a container to get the water. To be fit, you need to educate yourself. The bible is a good place to start, but educate yourself about everything available -- but most of which is in error. You need a foundation to which to compare what you have with what you will receive. It is a good idea to develpe your talents -- writing, music, math... The vessel is you, your soul and your mind. If you are going out into the desert to seek water, then the vessel has to be of the utmost quality, as the elements are going to conspire to compromise your vessel, such that when you do find the water, you will not be able to carry the water back, drink it, or be quenched. You prepare the vessel with your education, mind and deeds: there can be no vainglory, your vessel cannot be hardened, and have no leaks. There must be a cap: your determination prevent the water from escaping once you acquire it. Out into the desert you go. It is difficult, parching and forlorn experience. You despair that you cannot find the oasis. You have doubts, the wind, the sand the sun tear at you, and you become humbled by the elements and the you give up everything but your will which you offer to God. And continue on. No oasis, no friendship, no end in site, but you won't break, you do not curse.
Then it happens, it wasn't the oasis you were looking for, it was the rain. And it rains. It rains so hard it knocks you over and pops the top of your vessel and the vessel fills. In shock your reality changes, the filling isn't anything that you thought it was. While it rains you are delighted and at the same time wondering what is this? You frown and shiver even convulse, thinking,"What is happening to me?" The sky clears. You have your filling. Now you have to go back with a heavy load taking care not to lose a drop. The trip back has your mind on the Divine while the elements still try to tear you apart, but the elements just don't matter anymore, you no longer suffer, it's painful but you are not suffering. Back home, you open the vessel and share it in silence asking for nothing in return.

Answer 3

The fact that you are even here right now writing this is proof that you are being convicted of this, so you know what you have to do.

David said, "I seek You with all my heart"; (v. 10a). He sought God and found Him.
David was a man who loved the Lord. Consider His words, "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple" Ps. 27:4).
David sought God and found Him, but you have found Him in a far better way. You have already found God the Son, the Redeemer, the Savior. Where David looked to the Lord and trusted God for the coming messiah, you can look back and see the great work of the Lord in...THE CROSS. You have found Him.

Are you comfortable? Do you feel safe in the Lord? I hope so. You should. Comfort and peace are great blessings from the Lord. He loves us so much that He gave His Son and sent the Holy Spirit who is called The Comforter (John 14:26, KJV). We are secure in Him (John 10:27-28), can rest in Him (Matt. 11:28), and don't need to be anxious for anything (Phil. 4:6). We have a great and awesome God who has made all this possible.

However, sometimes comfort can be a stumbling block. Sometimes comfort can rob us of our strength and dependence on God. Think of a man who is so comfortable in his life with so few problems that he doesn't do much of anything, let alone worry about anything. He relaxes and enjoys life. He also becomes weak and dependent upon his routine and life. So, too, the Christian who is very comfortable in his life can also become weak and dependent upon the securities of life instead of the Lord. There is nothing wrong with being comfortable, unless that comfort makes us depend on God less and cause us to become complacent about the lost around us.

Answer 4

Ok, first I would like to start out by saying that I commend you for trying to strengthen your walk with God.
The first thing you need to do is pray openly with him, like he is a friend, but more than that like he is someone who will never judge you who loves you intensly who is always there and the only person who really gets you more than anyone else (he made you the way you are)
I often pray to God when something hard is coming up, and I don't make it real pretty or mannered sometimes I'll even rant to him, but alot I will just say 'God, I can't do this, I honestly dont know what to do, help me.' or 'God grant me the strength, the wisdom, open my eyes and open my mind lord, let your will be done in my life, amen.' the second is actually what I prayed before answering you, I knew I couldn't answer even this prayer all alone. Nobody knows exclusively what to do.

Next you should probably try to asses if there is anything in your life keeping you from God, now by this I don't mean a candy cane I mean a belief in something an ideal you hold (like being able to do everything alone, I don't think this is your problem because you are asking this question but I thought that would show what I'm talking about) or if you have a person in your life that takes you away from him, if you cant have him by your side in any of your activities they arent right.

Next you should study, you should definatly study his word you should read the bible from cover to cover, if not because you want to get to know him than just for the drama, if you skim through the geneology and acknowledge why its there (to provide an acurate geneology for the christ - jesus- through his father and mother) then just skim that , its an amazingly dramatic book, with two girls geting there father drunk so they could have kids - genesis- and two wives who barter over when they get the man (married to the same husband its amuzing how they fight over who gets to sleep with him tonight) but its a really good book the bible.
Also, I think everyone should be able to do what they say in first peter 3:15
Always be prepared to give reason for the hope you have, even if you never debate anyone its good to know because it keeps your faith strong.
So look up information on things like creation (to be strong in the fact that we have a God) and Jesus (to be strong in the fact that we chose the correct religion) I wouldnt recomend the history channel because its very biased but I did see one show on there (still watch the channel) that was about the medical reasons why Jesus MUST have died if he was crucified and there is no way he could have lived (some people say he didnt die just passed out and therefor didnt raise from the dead therefor he wasnt divine)
there are a few books you can read,
and I believe if you honestly talk to God and ask him to bless your studies andhelp open your eyes to him, and you study him and think on him often your relationship with him will be wonderful.

Hint - when reading the bible, try reading a chapter or two every day or night at a set time.

by the way, this all worked for me, so my source is personal expirience.

Hope it helps,

Good luck and I'll pray for you,

Jess

Answer 5

Love God and love other people to the best of your ability. This is the true way to seek God and the best way to begin.

Studying the bible and praying are definitely good places to start. But lots of people have unreasonably fundamentalist ideas about the bible and don't really know what prayer is. I would suggest getting a good spiritual adviser and see him/her a couple of times a month. Get somebody you trust, whom you can talk to openly.

Good luck.

Answer 6

It took me 27 years to actually meet God. It has taken another 25 years to unlearn the lies I was taught. I have the rest of eternity to learn as much as I can about who God really is. No matter what you believe...I Love You!!! The reason you have come to your conclusion is because of lies. I speak truth...God is in YOU. There is a reason He does not come forth to you yet. Do not judge God based on religion. The two are very far a part. The scriptures are true, as well. They do not unfold to all. Only to those with a contrite heart. You have seen the lie. Now look for the truth. It is there before your very eyes. May the Father of Spirits Bless You In Your Mind...and I will not withdraw this Blessing.

Answer 7

Pray then be silent and watch and listen. Ask God to show you only God's truth, not man's interpretation, but the truth itself. Wait to read until God leads you in that direction. You can tell God's guidance because it comes from within. It does not come as an all wise teacher outside of yourself. God will show you what you need to be shown. All people are fallible, and no one can know God's word better than you, no matter how many bible verses they can quote, because He speaks directly to you from deep within. Pray for guidance then be alert for God's guidance from within, then act on that guidance and pray and wait for more guidance. Never close yourself off from God by deciding to believe one thing or another, whatever you decide it will be wrong. Only God can reveal truth and sometimes the truth is revealed in stages or small bits, always stay open waiting , watching and listening. Know that there is always more to the truth than the human mind can comprehend.

Answer 8

Try this.

Take a topic, say "God's will" and look up and write down every passage that deals with what the will of God is for people.

Then, once you have finished, take another topic like "repent" with the variations of the word, repentance, repenting, etc. and look all them up, writing them down, and studying the context where they are found. Look it up in a Bible dictionary and see what it has to say. Ask yourself if what you believe repentence is, is supported in Scripture or not. Compare the preaching of Christ where he calls people to repent to the message preached by the prophets to the people in the old testament. See any parallels?

This sort of study will keep you busy the rest of your life, and you will learn a great deal.

The most profitable such study would be on "gospel."

.

Answer 9

Sure, you learn to read the Bible and pray effectivly and
others, Christian Brothers and Sisters, that you
fellowship with can help to encourage as well!
The more you experience God and His word over time,
the more you will grow.

I also like how the following ex-atheist explained what
tuning in to God is like!


"It's as if the truth of God is being spoken all around us, but we can't always hear it. This world teaches us to tune Him out. His spirit is like the low pitched hum of a fluorescent light. If you busy yourself with distraction, or if you keep your own thoughts turned up so high in your head, you won't even notice the light. Picture yourself in a large crowd of people. If you are in the midst of the crowd, concentrating on your own thoughts, the conversations around you become a drone in which no particular words can be discerned. But if you focus your hearing on one voice or another, you find that you can follow a conversation. You have to be still. You have to be quiet. You have to train yourself to listen for it, and if you do all of those things, you will hear Him. You will have tuned into God."

Visit the following website. It is interesting (more about
the ex-atheist and reasons he converted to Christianity)

Answer 10

My friend,

Look for God within yourself. Have you not heard that God made man in His own image? And surely, you have heard of the Holy Spirit being descended on mankind during Pentecost? I would reason the Holy Spirit truly is a loving expression of God. See God in your fellow brothers and sisters, in the personal interactions you share with them. Knowing God first begins with an appreciation for all His creation followed by a desire to know Him. I know from personal experience, if you truly desire to know God, in time, He will reveal Himself to you in some form. Be ever aware of God's presence in your life and through your fellows. Enjoy the journey and have patience my friend! =)