God wants to speak to you directly!
Faith comes by hearing
In Romans 10:17, the Bible says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Revelation by word. Jesus came telling us to seek the Kingdom and His righteousness first. meaning don’t go to religion to see what they’re saying but instead read and let God reveal it to you through His word. He will speak to you that way. This is what Jesus meant by having your mind transformed, by the hearing of His word. A preacher is speaking to the masses. But God wants to speak directly to you. God may have you in a storm to develop you towards greatness. He will reveal that to you if you have a relationship. But if you look to hear the word from another that isn’t God, you run the risk of misinterpretation. They may have you feeling you’re still under the judgment of sin, which you’re not. Then, the storm that God sent to develop you into something great, you think you’ve messed up, and the storm is judgment. Now, you feel condemned. You lose God's intent, and things go bad. God gave us direct contact with Him. Don’t go to someone else for your word from God! By hearing the word, we transform from being the children of God to the sons of God. Being a Son means your words have power. In Mark 11:23, Jesus states that if you believe in your heart [that God's power is unlimited] and you speak to a mountain to move, it will move.
It saddens me when I hear people deny God because our world is so screwed up and dark. They blame God. Yet we are the ones who are at fault. For our actions but more so for the level of our disbelief. Church has made it all about our conduct. But in reality, the problem is our disbelief. The sad truth is many “believers” don’t believe with their hearts. They’ve been convinced by fancy preaching. That’s why they stay sick, broke, and untrustworthy. Religion has tried to package something for sale that was never intended to be sold. God's word will not return to Him void. His word can bless us or it can curse us. God's word is powerful and it governs our lives if we believe it or not! So please give God your ear!
In Mathew, 13:15 God explains the consequence of a hardened heart ie separation from Him.
A closed heart cuts us off from God. And many of us have done this, most likely as a trauma response. Religion can’t open your heart. But if you turn to God and thank Him for an open heart, your heart will begin to open back up.
God promised us certain things like healing; Matthew 15:26 states that healing is the children’s bread. So if you need healing you don’t go to God asking for healing. He already said He would heal you. Instead when you pray say Father I thank you for I am healed, I am made whole in Jesus’s name amen. You are declaring that God's word of healing has power over your life.
Just go to God in raw form. As a small child in an abusive home, I prayed for protection and comfort every night. My outer world got better over the years however, during those hard times, I did feel an inner strength and comfort that was not of my own. So I kept doing it. Slowly, over time, God revealed more and more to me. Honestly, if He unveiled it all at once, we would probably seize up. These are very powerful moments in our lives that transform us. Jesus said we would be transformed by the renewing of our minds. I have walked this out. And not by religion but by relationship.