“In the secret place of Your Presence
You hide them from the plots of men; You keep them secretly in Your pavilion
from the strife of tongues.”
–Psalm 31:20 AMP
In
the Old Testament times men equated the Presence of God with physical items or
the physical manifestations of Him [i.e. the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of
Holies (1 Kings 8:21), thunder and lightning (Nahum 1:5), the temple in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles
22:10, 2 Samuel 7:13]. Now, in the New
Testament age, we find Him much closer.
If we believe in and have turned our lives over to Him we find He has
actually taken up residence in our hearts:
“I am crucified with Christ:
nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
gave himself for me.” –Galatians
2:20AMP
“May Christ through your faith
[actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts!
May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,” –Ephesians 3:17 AMP
Since
He now lives in and has made His home in our hearts why is it many Christians
do not experience His Presence? Has he
come and then left them? No! He has promised to always be with us (Matthew
28:20). I believe that in the busyness
of life we tend to stop to just be aware of His Presence. Even in the 17th Century when life
was slower than it is today a man named Brother Lawrence discovered that He
needed to know God’s Presence more. He
made it his life’s work to form a habit of conversing with God continually and
referring all he did to Him. This is
what he called “Practicing the Presence of God”.
Closer
to our century another man pursued knowing the Presence of God. As A. W. Tozer states in his book, “The
Pursuit of God”: “The world is perishing
for lack of the knowledge of God and the Church is famishing for want of His
Presence.” He also stated, “We need never shout across the spaces to an absent
God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts,” as
well as like Brother Lawrence regarding what we do in our every-day lives: “Let us practice the fine art of making every
work a priestly ministration. Let us believe that God is in all our simple
deeds and learn to find Him there.”
If
these great men of faith saw the importance of being aware of God’s Presence
and practicing it in their every-day lives how about us? What does God have to say on the matter?
“Seek, inquire of and for the Lord,
and crave Him and His strength (His might and inflexibility to temptation);
seek and require His face and His Presence
[continually] evermore.” –Psalm
105:4 AMP
“Though a sinner does evil a hundred
times and his days [seemingly] are prolonged [in his wickedness], yet surely I
know that it will be well with those who [reverently] fear God, who revere and
worship Him, realizing His continual Presence.”
–Ecclesiastes 8:12 AMP
“But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His Presence within
accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper,
forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness
(meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such
things there is no law [that can bring a charge].” –Galatians 5:22-23 AMP
How
does someone seek the awareness of His Presence? How do
you find yourself in the presence of anyone?
By spending regular quality time with them. Sharing your dreams and desires with each
other. So the key to seeking the
awareness of His Presence? Spend regular
quality time with Him. Share your dreams
and desires with Him through prayer.
Find out what His dreams and desires are by reading His Word. You already do that? Excellent!
Now is the time to increase the effort.
Take time aside throughout the day to acknowledge Him. Read His Word not only in the morning, but at
noon, and before you go to bed. Not
enough time? Do not let that stop you. It takes less than one minute to read one
verse. It takes even less than that to
say, “Father God, I love you!”
“Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and to be in His Presence continually!” -1 Chronicles 16:11 AMP
