Any encounter with Jesus does not occur with you defining the terms of that experience. "To the contrary he will show Himself perverse..." You say, "Not like this" to Him and very possibly that is the only way for Him to come. You say, "Not like this" to Him and He'll say, "Not like this" to you. He is The ultimate Authority. You are not.
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (1 Corinthians 5:14-19)
If you want to encounter God , if you desire to experience the Holy Spirit, You can wait upon Him to manifest. It is by undeserved condescension to you that He would make Himself known. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10)
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. " (Hebrews 11:6) If you don't seek His face, earnestly waiting in prayer (and maybe fasting,) if you dump the Bible...really if you don't seek Him where He hangs out, why would you expect anything? Of course you can risk being casual. He likes to show up and show off to those that weren't seeking Him. Sometimes His presence distills as the dew. Sometimes it is giant hailstones with fire. Certainly you don't have to fast and pray; but, Jesus promised to reward you if you do it in secret, pursuing Him. There is a sort of trick to it. He says, "In the day that you seek me with your whole heart you will find me." You have to go for broke. It has to be complete abandonment, no ulterior motives, nothing held back. Is it just a certain kind of information you expect to be able to think about? Or do you want to walk with God? Other peoples knowledge of God does not have every "t" crossed or every "i" dotted; but, I guarantee that is part of finding Him because He is in those He's chosen. You need to learn to follow Him, to be under His discipline, not in subjection to other religious men. Come to Him with a great big emptiness, just an aching need in your heart that you cannot fill. That's where He puts something of Himself to unfold before your wondering eyes.
