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I figured there was at least one experiment that could be carried out to dis-confirm the belief that God exists: I thought “if any of this is true, then there is a God who exists right now and presumably cares greatly about this project of mine”, so I started to pray in the air as an atheist “If there is a God, then here I am, I’m looking into this, why don’t you go ahead and reveal yourself to me. I’m open.” Well, I wasn’t, really, but I figured that shouldn’t stop God if He existed. So I read in the gospels about this Jesus of Nazareth.

It's amazing how many people relate the same kind of experience in coming to faith in Christ. I was a cradle Roman Catholic who always had "doubts" - a sense of things not being exactly how I was being told they were. I was fifteen years old and walking home from Mass one Sunday. I remember praying, "God, if you are real, if there is any such thing as truth, I want to know it." Within six months, I was sitting in a Southern Baptist Sunday school at my grandparent's church and a teacher opened the Bible and asked me to read it. It was John 10:27-30

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.

The Holy Spirit turned on the light and I knew God had answered my prayer. I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and the rest is, as they say, history. Yes, God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I was a cradle Catholic as well, but had quit going to church except for Christmas and Easter, and whenever I felt guilty about not going.

After a number of years of being virtually an atheist myself, God put me in a circumstance where I was beought to the end of myself.

I finally told Him “ If You can straigten out this mess of a life of mine, You can have it. I’ll do anything You want, even become a missionary and go to Africa, (the most desperate thing I could think of. Definitely at the bottom of my bucket list.) because I’d rather be happy doing what you want than continue going on as I am.”

Those exact words. I still remember doing that like it was yestersay, and it’s been 37 + years now.

Praise God that He took me up on that.

I’d never go back to the old life. I count it all as rubbish for gaining Christ and being found in Him.