In my experience, God does respond to the individual. Before I could examine the value of any religion, I asked the question, is there a God? I was open to the idea of God but I did not trust my relationship with him to the church or any other human being.
I pursued truth on my own and God revealed himself to me. He did not tell me to go out and convert the world or tell people how to live or make my opinions law. He simply showed up and we went from there.
People who claim they have found God inspire me as long as they are not trying to tell others who God is or that there is only one way to find God.
I have been blessed with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and please trust me when I tell you I did not get that through any religion. It also did not come easy as I highly doubted all I had been taught. I had to cast aside everything everyone has ever told me about God, not necessarily because they were wrong, but because one can only find God for one's self.
It has been my experience that not only does He reply but He is rather magical in his response and enjoys surprises
I would hate to see you lose out on such a special thing because a bunch of humans decided they know what's best for you, instead of letting you find your way.