earnestly give it a try
Taking this to be true, earnestness implies no shallow effort, no flimsy resolve, but a long-term, concerted and committed endeavor. If this is truly the case, we would expect to see at least years of committed effort and real sacrifice, not merely a minute taken each day for casual pleading for a sign, etc., or a week-long intensive flurry of reading Scriptures and churchgoing, but some real earnest or sacrifice implying an ongoing commitment. An earnest is a pledge, something of great intrinsic value used to show sincerity and depth. For example, quitting smoking, foregoing inappropriate social relations, attending church regularly, immersing himself in the Scriptures, taking real time to ponder and reflect on them, and so on. If he truly is in earnest, he would be making a real down payment on eternity, so to speak, not merely window shopping or browsing through a catalog of life and faith choices. In home purchasing, earnest money is paid as part of an actual offer on a home. If he is in earnest, he has already made up his mind that he wants it and is willing to pay full price for it once he has completed some further due diligence and a final appraisal, and his financing comes through if he is not paying cash. He is happily willing to forfeit all that he has deposited and is "risking" it in a sense if it turns out not to be what he wanted.
experiences no discernible outcome, and no conversion experience takes place. Eventually, the skeptic abandons their exploratory pursuit.
One apparent inconsistency between this sentiment and the homebuyer analogy is that the due diligence period is not a time to be converted into wanting the home. The homebuyer already wants the home, likely because something has already impressed him about it. The due diligence period is to resolve any doubts regarding potentially dealbreaking defects, and to do one's final calculations and preparations for financing. It is not that the skeptic has found an actual defect with the religion he is investigating, it is that he did not feel an additional overpowering "wow" that he was expecting to feel, perhaps primed by the promise of the skeptic's prayer. But if he did not feel a "wow" moment at any point, then why did he deposit--and forfeit--his earnest in the first place? Viewing the due diligence period less as a honeymoon and more as an opportunity to get one's financing together, and to assure oneself of the initial perceived value, is more in line with its real purpose. A failure to falsify the initial perceived value would actually be a success for most rational homebuyers. They do not demand an additional impressive display of magical feeling and emotion, because again, if they are in earnest, they have likely already had such an experience.
It is common for skeptics to tell themselves there is nothing impressive about their prior experiences with faith and even to discount them subsequently merely because there were not additional "wow" moments that overflowingly impressed them in some almost romantic, infatuated sort of way.
Forgetting what we already know or failing to appreciate what we have already been given is extremely easy. For these reasons I am grateful and awestruck that the most frequent ordinance in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes a promise to "always remember [Jesus]". God wants us to keep wonder and gratitude alive, and to fortify ourselves by effort. Realizing that we know something or have experienced something can be just as valuable and enlightening as knowing it. There is more to our growth and happiness than just knowing things; how we feel about what we know and what we do with it are at least as important. This is well expressed in the talk "Knowing that we Know" by Douglas Callister:
The moment of testimony realization—when you know that you know—is sweet and sublime. That testimony, if nurtured, will rest upon you as a mantle. When we see light, we are engulfed by it. Lights of understanding turn on within.
There may be great treasures in the house, but how can they be identified let alone appreciated if we do not turn on the light and remember them?
And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12)
One suggestion here is that the skeptic may have actually experienced a discernible outcome, but that he did not discern or recognize the answers to his prayers because it did not conform to his expectations. This is exceedingly common, especially when the individual does not have a history of recognizing the hand of God in his life. Working on improving his discernment will help. If a powerful prophet of God needed to be schooled in the fact that God answers ordinarily not by the shaking of mountains or sending some other gargantuan sign, but by a still, small voice, everyone ought to take note that God's voice is subtle and quiet, so that if we are preoccupied or distracted by loud voices we will almost certainly not hear His.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
Ask the skeptic what he expected as an outcome. Did he expect to be struck by lightning or to see an open vision? Or could he candorously admit that he needs more depth of his own righteousness and spirituality before he can reliably discern an answer from God? These things take time and effort and reaching for God to develop.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
These fruits are subtle and are rarely prized by society. If they are recognized at all they are often treated as weakness. If he has been taught be the world, he is likely trained to dismiss such things as mere evolutionary hardcoding, and to ignore his conscience as either a genetic or a social construct, or a blend of the two.
The journey of conversion and discipleship will require him no longer to take such things for granted nor devalue them.
It's not a matter of predestination. It's a matter of sincerity. It is a matter of the individual's choice to begin to notice things he hadn't before. Without such discernment, anyone is prone to dismiss the reality that God answers sincere prayers, even after having given much to find out.
God's promises are sure.
Ask, and ye shall receive (Matthew 7:7)
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
(James 1:5-7)
Did the skeptic waver?
Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
(Matthew 13:3-8)
Where did the failed skeptic abandon his desire to labor to bring forth fruit? Did the scoffers prevail and snatch the seed from him? Or did he immediately begin to grow upwards, but neglected his roots and died of thirst? Or did he let the cares of the world, pleasures, riches and temptations for fame or temporal exigencies choke his testimony, so that it ceased to grow?
Where are we willing to eject ourselves from this process, or not at all? Bearing fruit takes a whole season, sometimes longer as we sometimes need years of development for our roots to grow deep. If we neglect their nourishment and care, we cannot expect fruit.
Trust is not a freebie
Think also of what is required to gain another person's trust.
Say there is an employer who is looking to hire someone who will be responsible to safeguard a vast amount of assets in a bank vault. The employer may administer one test after another to prove the faithfulness of the applicant, including in situations the applicant is not aware he is being tested by or observed.
Merely passing a verbal exam would not be enough.
God cannot be deceived and if He is going to entrust someone with treasures of eternity, that individual must fairly earn the trust of God. This will certainly not be a trivial undertaking.
If the skeptic is honest with himself, on reflection, he may realize there are subtle signs he had failed to notice or appreciate, perhaps attributing them to evolution or to the teachings of his parents. He might notice he has grown apathetic due to his interest in worldly things, and no longer puts real effort into nourishing spiritual discernment and growth. He might be placing unrealistic demands on God or isn't so much as grateful for the oxygen he breathes. If he has committed none of these errors, then where is the dilemma?
genuine effortput in? How long was the effort? There are too many unknowns, even if we know everything about the skeptic and their efforts, we don't know what God has/is/will do. Any answer is an opinion on why/what might've happened, what we don't know, and why skeptic made said decisions on the experience (or lack there of).genuine effortinclude, beyond just the prayer, and for how long?