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> To even say that prayer is a spark of belief,

No, it is not. No more than saying that "there is no god but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet" *really* means I believe in Allah, or saying "the world is flat and the Sun goes around the Earth" means I'm a Creation Scientist. If I don't believe... they're just words.

> So the prayer... will you still pray that?

To what end? If I don't believe it to begin with, it is a pointless mouthing of words. But as I said... I did that once long ago, to no result.

***To what end? If I don't believe it to begin with...***

For the purpose of investigation.

My point with the car illustration was that there are other steps involved in getting somewhere besides just putting the key in the ignition - that's just the first step and it won't get you anywhere by itself.

***If I don't believe... they're just words.****

I'm not asking you to mouth words. That would be pointless. And I'm not asking you to believe in God - because I know your not sure if He exists.

I am asking you to test something and see if it turn out to be true.

I am asking you to from your heart say:

"God, if there is any God..."
(Suspension of judgment, disbelief is ok here)

"...show me if Jesus is your Son or not."
(Requires a definite result that will satisfy your doubts)

"..If he is I promise to accept him as my Savior and confess him as such before the world."
(Action you promise to take if the above turns out to be true - i.e this is related to "taking a stand for what you know to be right and follow it wherever it may lead you" we spoke of earlier.)

Now this last point is the kicker, because it is my belief that God is not interested in simply satisfying peoples curiosity. Unless there is a definite commitment to act on what one discovers to be true, this experiment would be pointless.

Let me ask you this question...

If there was a God and He showed you that Jesus Christ was in fact who he claimed to be, would you be willing to accept him as your Lord and Savior and confess him as such before the world?