Our Presence With God

This is the fourth and final installment in my four-part series on our Attitude, Approach, Posture, and Presence with God. I encourage you to look back (or look for the first time) at the first three installments on Attitude, Approach, and Posture before diving in here….

Now that you have done that, let’s again begin with prayer. Begin by taking deep breaths, calming your spirit, and praying the following prayer: “God, be with me; Jesus, fill me; Holy Spirit, come!”

Remember, this prayer is about availability and awareness. It is a prayer asking God to give us the grace to become more available to Him and more aware of His constant presence.

Now, before you go any further, pull out your Bible and refamiliarize yourself with the parable in Luke 18:9–14…

Presence With God

In this parable, we find two men before God. One is fully present with God, the other is not. Why? One stands before God with few words but a broken heart. He opens himself up to God and exposes the inner workings of his soul. The other is too busy talking and sharing all the “good” he has done to actually be present with God. In fact, one could ask if he really needs God’s presence in his life. Which individual do you most identify with? Do you really want to be present with God, or do you just want God to punch your ticket and grant your requests?

We often talk about wanting to be in God’s presence. Our prayers and songs speak of longing for His presence. Yet perhaps the problem is not God’s presence, but ours. Are we present with God? We always have God’s presence. In fact, He lives in us and has come to make His home with and within us. Thus, the distance we feel is not His, but ours.

Consider a husband sitting on the couch watching TV. His wife comes over and begins to talk to him. As she talks, he nods his head and says, “Mmm…hmm. That’s nice, dear.” Then she finally breaks in (often abruptly) and says, “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” He responds, “Yes, I have.” She examines further: “Then tell me what I just said.” He fumbles through his words and shares a broken idea of what he thinks she was saying. Even if he gets semi-close, it still shows his lack of presence with her.

We do the same with God. He lives within us and is constantly wanting to be with us. He talks with us all day. But, like the husband, we are often too occupied with other things to hear what He is saying. Sometimes, like the wife, God (through the Holy Spirit) breaks into our thoughts and asks, “Have you been listening?” We then respond with some broken idea of what we think He has been trying to teach us or share with us. It is quite clear we haven’t been present with Him, but He keeps trying, hoping that someday we will set aside our preoccupations to be present with Him.

Sound familiar?

God deeply desires our presence. God never makes it difficult to experience His presence, but we can make it hard through our “spiritual A.D.D.” We have become so accustomed to noise and distraction that focusing on God and being present with Him can be hard. But God is jealous for our presence. Remember what James said? 

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:4-8 [ESV])

How would you describe your presence with God? How might your prayers and other spiritual practices need to change? Are you truly with God, or is He jealous for your spirit? How can you get where you want to be with God? Psalm 105:4 tells us, “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually.” For many of us, we long for God’s presence, but we struggle to hear His still, small voice. We get lost in our own words and wonder if God is even listening. We ask for God’s presence, but what we really need is to become more present to God.

Now that we have determined how our Attitude, Approach, Posture, and Presence need to be before God, I encourage all of us to begin the regular practice of placing ourselves before God like the tax collector: on our knees, broken, and willing to become fully present to God through our prayers and other spiritual practices. We can also become fully present to God through how we live our daily lives with the intent to deepen our spiritual awareness of God’s ever-abiding presence moment-by-moment. 

I encourage us to slow our pace, be still, and listen to the Spirit throughout our daily schedules. Begin to recognize the immediacy of God’s guiding presence and our dependence on that presence. This is not something we do, but ultimately something we relax into.

Augustine once said, “The entire life of a good Christian is an exercise in holy desire. You do not see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when God comes you may see and be utterly satisfied.…Simply by making us wait, God increases our desire, which in turn enlarges the capacity of our soul, making it able to receive what is to be given to us.”

Allow the Holy Spirit to “enlarge the capacity of your soul” so that when you encounter God, you will be ready to receive what He is freely giving you: GOD’S PRESENCE!