#849 An Agnostic Reaches Out
August 20, 2023Hi, Dr. Craig. I hope you’re doing well! I’m an agnostic who is searching for the truth of whether or not God exists and Christianity is true. I started praying to God a while back, in case He will listen to me; even though I’m unsure of His existence. I’ve been asking Him to reveal Himself to me and to reveal the truth. I believe I may have encountered many instances of God reaching out. Here are a few examples: 1) People have addressed and answered things in conversation relating to God that I was thinking about not long before, 2) Media, including songs and videos, came to me answering and addressing thoughts and questions in my head at the right times, and 3) certain verses in Scripture that address what I’m going through over and over at the right times. My question is this: How can I be sure this is God reaching out? Does God communicate to us in these ways? Whether or not my question is picked, I just want to say thank you to you for all you’ve done and continue to do. It has helped me. Take care!
Chris
United States
Dr. craig’s response
A
I’m so encouraged to hear of your search for God, Chris, especially the way you are going about it. Finding God is not just an intellectual inquiry, but also a spiritual search that should be conducted with humility and reverence. The proud skeptic who demands that God meet him on his terms is unlikely to find God. Seeking God in prayer is exactly the way the spiritual seeker should reach out for God. Your prayers have clearly been answered. It is the testimony of Christians down through the ages that God does communicate in the ways that you mention, often speaking to us through various means.
How can you be sure that these answers are truly from God and not just coincidences? I don’t think there is any way to be certain. Even if some purportedly miraculous event happened in answer to prayer, say, a dramatic healing, there’s no way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was God. Fortunately, certainty is not necessary for placing your faith in God as your heavenly Father. You prayed, your prayers were answered, and that is enough for you to place your faith in God, unless you have some overriding reasons to think that God is not true.
Minimally, you are ready to take the next step on your spiritual journey. In addition to praying, begin reading the New Testament and ask God to speak to you through what it says. Attend Christian worship services and begin to worship the Lord. Engage in spiritual conversations with believers whose lives and walk with God you respect.
In all this, claim the biblical promise, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you” (James 4.8).
- William Lane Craig