Certain events and prayers answered in my life which is only a handful of times this happened but I saw Gods answer so clearly it left me speechless. My imagination didn't show me those things it was actual real life things I saw and there was no way to question if it wasn't him.
Can you give us an example, please, of an event in your life that demonstrated conclusively that your God was communicating with you and that could not be due to your personal interpretation of the event in question (in other words, due to your imagination)? Obviously, the event's occurrence is not due to your imagination, but your interpretation of the event as a personal relationship with your God is surely a subjective assessment, is it not?
My faith in God isn't blind like many Christians will tell you, it is a faith similar to the faith I have in my girlfriend and my best friend Ryan. I trust what they say and that is honest and they will come through for me because they have so many times before. I trust God in a way similar to that he has pr oven himself true to me over and over again.
Let's explore this a little. Is your personal relationship with your girlfriend or best friend really similar to your personal relationship with your God or are they completely different? I'll give you some examples to compare.
A personal relationship is a connection between two or more people. With that in mind, suppose a resourceful security agency was looking for a connection between you and your girlfriend. What sort of evidence could they gather to confirm that connection? Well, they could place you and your girlfriend under physical and electronic surveillance for a start. They could take photographs of the two of you together. They could collect emails and text messages and record phone calls between you and your girlfriend. They could bug you and the locations you both frequent and record conversations between you. They could ask others if they have seen the two of you together. They could track you through GPS or cell tower triangulation and note when the two of you are in the same location at the same time. In short, they could amass an enormous amount of solid evidence demonstrating a connection between you and your girlfriend.
Now, if that same security agency looked for a connection between you and your God what would they find? Would they find any of that solid evidence above or would they find absolutely no solid evidence at all? So, is your personal relationship with your God really similar to your relationship with your girlfriend or is it more like the relationship a child has with his or her imaginary friend?
I'll give this personnel example first and give more later if you all would like sorry I haven't had much time to get on here I worked from 9 to 9 today but the weekend will help with that. There was this night maybe 3 or so years ago when me and my friend were sitting on my roof talking. I was very much doubting at the time and I said something along the lines of what if there isn't any real substantial good or joy for us in life or what if God doesn't really exist. Right as I said that last word as the last waves came out from me, I saw in the night sky the biggest and longest lasting shooting star I have ever seen flashed across for at least 2 or 3 seconds it was just one of the most amazing things I've seen in the beauty of nature. I really thought my friend wasn't looking and didn't see but speechless I looked at him and he said did you see what I just saw? This left me in awe but it was still later on once I found my belief.
Now I'd like to share a segment from ravi zacharias telling the testimony of a friend and it's a little long but this is one of the most compelling things I've ever heard for my belief personally. I copy and pasted from an article sharing his story.
Throughout history, the Old and New Testaments have shown themselves to be reliable and true; they rise up to outlive their pallbearers, if you will. The following story probably stirs my own confidence in the power of God’s Word and His sovereignty more than any other. Let me share part of it with you today.
I was ministering in Vietnam in 1971, and one of my interpreters was Hien Pham, an energetic young Christian. He had worked as a translator with the American forces, and was of immense help both to them and to missionaries such as myself. Hien and I traveled the length of the country and became very close friends before I returned home. We did not know if our paths would ever cross again. Seventeen years later, I received a telephone call. "Brother Ravi?" the man asked. Immediately, I recognized Hien’s voice, and he soon told me his story.
Shortly after Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned on accusations of helping the Americans. His jailers tried to indoctrinate him against democratic ideals and the Christian faith. He was forced to read only communist propaganda in French or Vietnamese, and the daily deluge of Marx and Engels began to take its toll. "Maybe," he thought, "I have been lied to. Maybe God does not exist. Maybe the West has deceived me." So Hien determined that when he awakened the next day, he would not pray anymore or think of his faith.
The next morning, he was assigned the dreaded chore of cleaning the prison latrines. As he cleaned out a tin can overflowing with toilet paper, his eye caught what seemed to be English printed on one piece of paper. He hurriedly grabbed it, washed it, and after his roommates had retired that night, he retrieved the paper and read the words, "Romans, Chapter 8." Trembling, he began to read, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. … For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:28,38,39).
Hien wept. He knew his Bible, and he knew that there was not a more relevant passage for one on the verge of surrender. He cried out to God, asking forgiveness. This was to have been the first day that he would not pray; evidently God had other plans.
As it were, there was an official in the camp who was using a Bible as toilet paper. So Hien asked the commander if he could clean the latrines regularly. Each day he picked up a portion of Scripture, cleaned it off, and added it to his collection of nightly reading.
Then the day came when, through an equally providential set of circumstances, Hien was released from prison. He promptly began to make plans to leave the country and to construct a boat for the escape of him and 53 others. All was going according to plan until days before their departure. Four Vietcong knocked on Hien’s door and said they had heard of his escape. He denied it and they left. Hien felt relieved, but at the same time disappointed with himself. He made a promise to God—fervently hoping that God would not take him up on it—that if the Vietcong returned, he would tell them the truth. He was thoroughly shaken when only a few hours before they were to set sail, the four men returned. When questioned again, he confessed the truth. To Hien’s astonishment, the men leaned forward and, in hushed tones, asked if they could go with him!
In an utterly incredible escape plan, all 58 of them found themselves on the high seas, suddenly engulfed by a violent storm. Hien cried out to God, "Did you bring us here to die?" But then he said to me, "Brother Ravi, if it were not for the sailing ability of those four Vietcong, we would not have made it." They arrived safely in Thailand, and years later Hien arrived on American soil where today he is a businessman.
