There was a time in my life, perhaps also in the life of every Christian, when I wondered if there really is a God. For me, this was while I was a very busy law student, worried about finances, and engrossed in my career.
To resolve the question, I did as James directs us to do in the Bible:
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that
James 1:5-6wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”
The answer to my question did not come easily. I fasted, attended church regularly, doubled down on my daily scripture study, and spent a significant amount of time praying when I felt no immediate response.
Over time, however, I felt within my heart that it was true. I could feel the Lord giving me knowledge and understanding in flashes of understanding that lead me to a confirmation of my belief.
Subsequent to that experience, I have had many personal experiences which have confirmed my faith. In very personal ways, I know without any doubt that there is indeed a God, because I have seen His works. I have had God tell me things through thoughts as I prayed that I later learned to be true, and I have been guided to help people with things I couldn’t have known they were struggling with. I know there is a God, and in this post I want to share some things that can lead you to begin to believe.
However, there will never be a logical argument for OR against the existence of God that will entirely answer this question. We will see evidence on both sides of the debate, but as God has invited, for those who are first willing to exercise faith–even unto the DESIRE to believe, and work to obtain an answer, the knowledge will be given you at the right time. The rest of this post is not there to convince you of the existence of God, but to give you enough to go on to begin your study for yourself.
Personal Revelation Provides Evidence of God
I have come to learn that God can communicate with us individually. I have never audibly heard God’s voice, but there have been times when I unquestionably know that someone other than myself gave me thoughts which later proved out to be true.
A few years ago, I knelt down to pray on a lazy Saturday morning. I had plans to play with my boys for the day and have some fun. As I began to pray (as is my habit each morning), I had an absolutely crystal clear knowledge that something terrible was about to happen, and that I needed to spend some time researching First Aid that morning. I can’t explain it any other way. It wasn’t something I happened to wonder about. In an instant I simply knew that was going to happen, and what I should do about it.
I spent about an hour researching First Aid and went about my day. That night, I knelt down to pray again and was a bit confused. Nothing bad had happened. Had I made it up in my head?
The next morning I was very late to church and one of my boys was sick so I was taking my other son to church while my wife stayed home with his brother. We were going to be more than 30 minutes late to church, so I was getting frustrated.
All of the sudden, a child burst out of the front door of the house across the street screaming “Does anyone know CPR?” I ran inside their house and found a little girl lifeless on the floor of their living room. The father was there and began doing CPR as I called 911.
Minute after minute ticked by and I felt the little precious girl’s skin turn blue and cold. I heard gurgling noises in her stomach and realized her body was shutting down. She had not shown even the slightest sign of life in minutes.
I suddenly remembered what I had read the day before after my prayer. You need to sweep a finger through the mouth as part of CPR to clear any blockages. As I did, my finger caught the end of something. I pulled out a pink balloon.
The girl recovered. After a night in the hospital I saw her running down the street that same week.
Atheists can tell me whatever educated logical arguments they want to convince me there is no God, but I know that we can’t know the future. My mind couldn’t have just “known” to study CPR that day. I absolutely know that God did in fact communicate with me that day. There is absolutely someone bigger than us all, and He is aware of us.
Families Show Evidence that God Exists
Most people have felt what it is like, perhaps even just for a moment at some point in their life, when they were close to God. For me, those feelings often arise with my family.
Perhaps it was when you held your baby in your arms for your first time, or comfort you may have felt at the funeral of a loved one, but most people have felt the comfort that only God can give.
It is certainly true that we may feel affinity to our families for perfectly practical reasons. Families help us to learn and survive, so critics may say that it is natural to feel sentimental or loving toward them. That makes perfect sense, but I think most of us have had moments at some point in life where we realized that we were given a moment of love–a love from without our own bodies.
Obedience to God’s Commandments Provides Evidence of God
In The Bible, after God reveals a commandment to the people, he says “Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).
God openly invites us to obey His commandments and see the blessings that we are given for our obedience. You can know that God exists by following God’s commandments and seeing what it does for your life. Here are a few ways you could experiment on God’s promises:
- Perform a fast as taught in the Bible. For a period of 24 hours, abstain from eating and drinking and pour out your sincere prayer to God for something you need help with in your life or the life of a loved one. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen God’s hand through prayer and fasting. But pray humbly. Do not seek to command God to cater to your desires, but seek the blessings He is willing to give you, but which are conditional on your asking.
- Obey the law of tithing. In the Bible, God commands the people to give 1/10th of their income to the church for the building up of the kingdom of God. Would you consider donating your money to show God that no material thing is more important than He is to you? If you will, God has promised to open the windows of heaven and give you a blessing so large you won’t be able to receive it.
- Free yourself from degrading media and sensual temptations. Turn off the tv, movie, songs, or Instagram accounts of anything that would tempt you to do wrong. Do not watch pornography in any form. Watch how your love for your spouse and your kindness to others will grow.
Those are just a few of the ways that you could prove out God’s commandments and see the evidence for God for yourself.
The Earth and Planets in Their Regular Order Denote the Existence of God
I spent 8 years as a full-time travel and landscape photographer. I saw many of the most beautiful places in the world. There were many times when appreciating those places made me feel closer to God.
The prophet Alma in The Book of Mormon said, “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).
The following video is a dramatization of that scripture.
For me personally, it seems very very far fetched that two rocks collided together and it happened to make the Sun 400 times larger than the moon, but the moon 400 times closer to Earth than the Sun. It seems unlikely that the Earth would produce the precise amounts of air, water, heat, gravity, and food to support human life. It seems unlikely that the planets and the order of them would be so perfect.
Rocks may very well have smacked together, but I believe it was by the guiding hand of an Almighty God who created this perfect world for us.
Evil Can Provide Evidence of God
There have long been theories about guilt. Some say that the reason we should not steal is merely practical. If we steal it creates a society that is mistrusting and this is less efficient, thus we feel a betrayal of the social creed by doing wrong.
Others would argue that we feel guilt merely because it makes us feel like an outsider from society. Others still argue that guilt is a learned trait taught by a society to protect itself.
While all of these arguments may contribute somewhat, I seem to feel very different about doing evil. I feel that doing evil makes me feel further from God.
Have you ever met someone who you could just feel was truly evil? Have you ever just felt wrong about something someone was telling you? Have you ever made a decision and then felt a sense of relief and knowledge that you have been protected from doing something very wrong or dangerous? I have. I believe that feeling is our Spirit, tuned to be with God, and feeling the influence of something far from it.
By feeling those very negative and evil feelings, I am made more certain that there is someone truly good, our Heavenly Father, directing us in the right paths. Seeing what man naturally becomes if he yields to the enticings of the flesh, shows me that it takes the blessings of God to receive goodness.
World Religions Provide Evidence of God
Most every world civilization since the beginning of time has expressed some belief in a supreme being. Yes, a critic may say that this merely shows a natural human longing for a deeper connection to life. I disagree.
While world religions may differ in many ways in how they teach their adherents to live, who to believe, and the correct doctrines, it is striking how the belief in a supreme being has such similarities between nations and cultures for thousands of years.
Even tribes and nations far removed from one another which
Seeing this pervasive belief is evidence to me that God is at work among all nations of the world through all generations of time.
Prayer Can Give Evidence of God
Prayer comes in many forms. For some, it is merely a recitation of a pre-programmed saying. For others, it is merely a time of internal reflection and meditation.
I want to encourage you to try something different. Plead with God about your stressors, concerns, those you care about, and your desires in life. Pray with real intent. Speak respectfully because you are talking with God, but pray in an authentic way.
You can only do this practice so many times, if you have faith, before your Heavenly Father’s love for you will be felt, and it likely will not take long for you to feel that He hears your prayers.
I was once uncertain about prayer worked, and then I read something in The Bible Dictionary that helped me to understand. It says:
“The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.”
The Bible Dictionary
The Bible Provides Evidence of God
The Bible itself tells a powerful story that promotes a belief in God. Of course the most powerful witness in the Bible is for its spiritual lessons which we may apply in our lives and see tangible benefits, but also the text itself provides evidence.
There are over 5,500 of the oldest surviving copies of the Biblical text. No two are perfectly identical as they were copied by scribes who sometimes inserted their own beliefs, understandings, or interpretations of what was written as the Bible was translated. Interestingly, no Aramaic copy of the New Testament exists among these sources, despite the fact that Aramaic was the language commonly spoken by the people at the time of Christ.
There is a tremendous volume of evidence to show that the facts written in The Bible about Jesus Christ were not believed by contemporaries and those who came soon after Christ. So very many people documented the events that they are among the best documented in history.
You will not gain a testimony of Jesus Christ’s divinity merely through historical study. That type of conversion is not strong enough to lead you through life, but you can be sure that historical evidence does not disagree with your belief.
How do you regain Faith when you have TOTALLY lost it??
I’m sorry you’re not feeling strong in your faith right now. I have felt that way before as well. You can begin by trying. Try to make any small step toward God. Pray each morning–it’s simple and shows God you’d like to feel His strength and love. Be kinder to others in an effort to be more like Jesus Christ. Attend church one Sunday.
Take whatever tiny action your current faith will allow you to accomplish and watch the Lord fill your life with light. That light will give you the strength to take one more step, and soon you find yourself on the Lord’s path.
There are missionaries who would gladly help you to grow your faith. Their visit is free and they are people who have been through what you’re going through. Just invite them to your home and let them bring you a free copy of The Book of Mormon. When I read The Book of Mormon, I feel SOO much stronger in my faith. I know it will help. https://www.comeuntochrist.org/site/free-book-of-mormon
Thanks a lot for the reply. Sorry i forgot to reply. Your advice really helped me. Now am going to church again,,,
If you feel you have lost it it means that you haven’t lost it..it’s just hidden somewhere…
Being far from god is part of the relationship…how can you understand that something is valuable if you never experience its loss?
Just accept your condition and look at the trees and the flowers….without thinking anything…we will se god in them….you will se god giving them to you..in that exact moment.. š
To do so, you may find it necessary to discard your faith in the world, materialism, in yourself, and everything else that has over time slowly substituted your faith in God.
Jesus is the Christ, ask Jesus to reveal himself to you so that you can know the Truth. Iām praying for you and binding Satan on your thoughts.