Practicing God’s Presence

Have you ever been in a place, where you felt God’s presence intensely? This is no ordinary encounter. Your heart is beating, your mind is fully alert and possibly your body physically experiences unusual sensations. Maybe at a church service, or an encounter retreat, in your cell group or even at home, a supernatural encounter with God makes you incredibly aware of his presence.

Joseph was on the run from his brother Isaac. En-route to Haran, he stopped in Bethel for a bit of respite. He receives a dream featuring angels and a ladder whose top reached the heavens, and bottom touched the earth. The angels were climbing and ascending the ladder, as if to indicate a divine passageway from heaven to earth. Joseph wakes up startled, but also ecstatic, uttering this phrase “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place, and I was not a aware of it”.

The presence of the Lord as encountered episodically often in the Old Testament, as God manifested himself sovereignely to his people. This would be a time for his people to experience his presence to fulfill a task, be encouraged, or to give a prophetic message. Things however changed in the New Testament. Jesus promised his disciples that upon his passage to heaven, he would send them another helper, this was the Holy Spirit. This same spirit was thus received after Jesus death and resurrection by those who committed their life to him in salvation. Further, the Holy Spirit was given in a deeper sense at Pentecost in Acts 2, and ensuing in a similar fashion. This Holy Spirit is nothing other than God’s presence.

As a New Testament believer you have God’s presence, abiding not just around you as Jacob encountered at Bethel, but inside you. You do not need to have a special retreat or church camp meeting to experience the Holy Spirit. He abides with you, ready to fellowship with you as you give him audience and approach him with a heart of faith. Jacob was unaware of God’s presence. Do you find yourself like Jacob? Is God inside of you, yet your life experiences are often devoid of this special relationship? Are you filled with the Holy Spirit, possessing the gift of tongues, yet you struggle to experience his presence? How do we become more aware of God’s presence?

I believe it begins with our understanding of his presence, despite our sensory perception. Our belief in the Holy Spirit must simply be by faith as revealed in the word of God. This faith comes as you spend time in his word reflecting deeply on the reality of the Holy Spirit in you. But to be truly aware of his presence requires you to bring this spiritual reality to your consciousness. Often times I would say audibly to myself “God is with me”, “the Holy Spirit is in me”. As I verbalize the spiritual reality several times, consistently over a period of time, I begin to be keenly aware of God’s presence.

Engaging in this activity is called practicing his presence. You intentionally practice being aware of the Holy Spirit regularly, fostering in you God’s heart and desires. As you engage in this process you will find your capacity to hear and obey God’s thoughts are heightened. He makes your energy reserve increase, your resiliency to sin stronger, your joy for the lord fuller, and your compassion for the hurting deepened, as he partners with you in living out his kingdom as a light in this dark world.

May you continue to be aware of his presence, that God’s potential for your life be fully maximized.