Hi everyone,

I'm trying to find my way to God, but find it difficult as I can't hear
God talking to me, letting me know that he exists and is with me and
that he knows me, and I feel that I can't possibly get to know him until
he does. Maybe he _is_ talking to me but I just don't know or understand
how to listen.

Some Christians tell me that (in their opinion) the only way to find God
is to take a plunge and commit your life to him, and you will discover.
This idea of diving into the totally unknown is a little bit
frightening, but I have a few questions.

1) How do you actually commit yourself? If I just say, "OK God, her you
go, I'm committing my life to you", I wouldn't really feel that he'd
listened - at least, I couldn't be sure that he had. So how does one (or
how did you) commit oneself to God?

2) In committing myself in this way, what do I have to forfeit of my
current life? What can I no longer do? I feel that I'm as 'good' as many
Christians, and I try to uphold the idea of 'loving your neighbour' - I
don't go round killing people, stealing, etc., and I try not to get
jealous of other people in any way - and I would say that I keep to the
standards of treating other people as well as many Christians. So what
do I have to give up?

3) When committed, what do I have to do? What does it involve? What (if
any) burdens am I taking on?

4) So then, what's the general difference before and after? I assume,
that (like on your birthday you don't suddenly feel a year older) it
won't suddenly change my life the day I commit myself. So what happens?

5) How can I be sure that it is the right thing to do? How can I find
out what the 'it' in the last sentence actually _is_?!

Thanks very much for all your help in answering these questions. Perhaps
e-mail would be a better way to reply, but it's up to you.