And talking to God as if he’s real didn’t do it for me, either. And “If you are real, reveal yourself to me” doesn’t require faith, you don’t have to believe, to do this.
Well, “those who ask, receive” isn’t about getting a right question, certainly. And as far as “believe”, was that propositional? And similarly with “faith”, I would prefer the word “trust”, which is relational, not propositional. As in “who are you, Lord?” and then I started to get results I had been seeking, by knowing God more, not by seeking faith directly. And then Paul’s second prayer was “Lord, what do you want me to do?”, to look for and listen for the next step of obedience. Through obeying, we see God at work, and what he can do, this does build faith. Signs and messages are fine, but as I mentioned, I even got a sign I asked for, and that somehow didn’t increase my faith. I do recommend keeping at it, there are dry spots, for sure. But it’s not earned, and certainly I don’t want to just tell myself stories! But reading apologetics helped, as I mentioned, there is good evidence to be examined, but again, that doesn’t compare to actually getting to know God, to having a relationship…