Practicing His Presence

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18-20 (KJV)

God is everywhere, but are we aware of Him or do we just go through the day without realizing He’s there? We need to practice his presence. How do we do this?

• We must consciously keep God on our minds, with Him in our thoughts wherever we are and whatever we are doing. As we keep our minds on Him, we are kept in perfect peace.

• We practice His presence by thinking on the Word of God. God and His Word are One, so as we think and meditate on the Word, we are thinking on God (John1:1-3, 14).

• When we remember God’s works and what He’s done for each of us, we practice his presence. As we recall His past deeds, we will begin to look for Him to work in our current situations. It causes us to expect God to intervene on our behalf.

• Slow down and give your attention to God. As we get quiet before Him, we can be aware of His manifested presence. Waiting in His presence allows us to actually feel Him and sense His nearness (Psalm 46:10). He will reveal Himself and His love to us. This removes loneliness and we experience His love. Waiting on God as noted in Isaiah 40:31 is to bind ourselves to the promises of God. The Hebrew word for wait is qavah which means to bind together by twisting. it speaks of the straining of the mind in a certain direction with an expectant attitude. When we slow down and turn our thoughts to God and bind ourselves to Him in that way, His presence manifests and we are strengthened.

• Worshiping God brings His presence on the scene (Psalm 22:3). Worship God throughout your day, even under your breath at times if needed. Worship is a magnet that attracts the manifest presence of the Lord.

• Pray and draw near to God. As we draw near to him, He draws near to us. By having conversations with Him though the day, praying and talking with Him, we can hear from God and know He is with us. We can pour out our hearts to him and know He is there to answer.

• Just saying the name of Jesus will remind us He is with us. His name repesents all the Lord is and all He can do. Declaring Jesus is to declare the great I AM is there (John 14:13-14). Declare all the names of God, proclaiming all the various aspects of who He is and what He does.

• Taking communion also reminds us of the Lord. As we partake of the covenant meal, we remember the finished works of Jesus and we sense His presence.

God is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere, including wherever we are. However, we want to press into God, where we know and experience His manifest presence. We have the abiding presence of Jesus Christ that lives in every believer, but we can also experience the manifestation of His presence in our midst. The more we practice these points, the more we experience His presence and fellowship with Him. Yet, there will be times where we simply don’t “feel God.” When this is the case, we have His Word. We can take God at His Word and know He’s always with us. When we don’t feel God, we can read God.