The Presence of God is one of deep intimacy with our Father. It is that place of knowing Him and being fully known by Him. It is that place of righteousness – where we know deeply, not just academically, that through Jesus, we are truly right with God. There is nothing separating us. We are in Him and He is in us. There are no shadows between us. It is the joy of the Lord within us. That joy that is not dependent on circumstances but is strong and sure. It is that peace that quiets our hearts and mind and gives us assurance that in Him all is well with my soul. It is in that inner place, that oneness with our Father, that we experience the Presence of God. It is there that the mysteries of God are revealed. It is there that revelation comes, not by strife but by that supernatural revelation; our eyes and ears are opened  our hearts receive the seed of revelation. It is in that place that one knows that prayers uttered are heard and will be answered. It is in that place we know the love of the Father and know what it is to love the Father. It is out of that union we worship in spirit and in truth. It is there that the Holy Spirit will make known to us what He receives from Jesus. It is a place of rest in God. So being in the Presence of God is of utmost importance.

Clayton, our son, preached on Knowing the Presence of God  recently. Here is a a small excerpt:

“IN HIS PRESENCE:

Seeds are watered.

Seeds are planted.

Souls are healed.

Bodies are healed.

There is fullness of joy.

Dreams are born.

The flesh dies.

There are times of refreshing.”

So how then do we live in the Presence of God?  This is a great question and for every person it is different.  I can share some ways that help me to step into His Presence but each person has to find for themselves the way to enter into His Presence. God’s is always present but we can get caught up with day to day living and not be aware of His amazing Presence. So here are some keys that help me step back into His Presence.

Putting right with God.

Psalm 32:3-5  the Amplified describes aptly what it can feel like when I am not right with God. I know that uncomfortable feeling within me that I push aside as I don’t want to deal with it. It is me running from the Presence of God not to His arms of love.  But when I come to Him and take what I am dealing with to Him, I feel clean and I sense his love and Presence again.

Thanksgiving and Gratitude.

A heart of thanksgiving and one of deep gratitude for who God is and out of that what He has done always points me to Him. We enter His gates with thanksgiving in our hearts (Psalm 100:4). As a practice, I like to journal but the one thing I try to journal most days is at least three things I am thankful for. This practice has stood me in good stead.  When my heart is not right, I look at my journal and read the first three things of each day. It does not take long for my heart to fill with gratitude at the amazing faithfulness of my Father. My heart fills with gratitude that I am privileged to have been called by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords into a relationship with Him.

Praise and Worship.

I know when my focus is on praising and worshiping Jesus, I simply draw close to him. This can be while driving along in the car and thinking of some random thing. I put praise and worship on and as my heart begins to sing,  …there I find His Presence.  The Word says that God inhabits the praise of His people, so as we take our focus off the things off ourselves put it on the Lord, the door of our hearts opens up to Jesus, our King.  It is there we can enter into that place of intimacy with Him.

Be still and know that I am God.

The practice of stillness before God is something that seemed to me was practiced much more often in days gone by. We read about this in many of the books written some time ago. People like Brother Lawrence found this to be a key. Again it is a place of focus.  To be still in Him, simply means to me, to quiet the mind and body and focus on my Lord. It is to become aware of His peace, love and joy in my mind and my heart. It is to recognize the One who truly completes me. Oh to abide in Him and to know that I am in Him and He is in me is altogether delightful.

Nature

Being that I am a nature lover, it does not take much for me to get into the Presence of God when I am walking through His amazing creation. The sheer joy of seeing a bird or animal, created by Him for our pleasure, reminds me of the One who created them. The details seen in a single flower stirs up thoughts of the amazing details with which God made the earth and all that is within it. When I see the magnificence of the ocean I think about the vastness of our God. When I see the grandeur of the mountains, I am in awe of the One I serve. When I look to the stars I am reminded of God’s promises to Abraham. When I look out at the purity of a snow covered field I remember that the blood of Jesus has washed me whiter than snow. His creation takes me to Him and into His Presence.

His Word

Reading the Word of God is one of the ways Ken steps into God’s Presence easily. I need to read with my heart intentionally focused on the Word and then I feel His Presence.  If I am battling with this, I find that reading the Word of God aloud and listening to the Word as it is read, brings me to this place. Faith comes by hearing the hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17).Then faith begins to stir within me and that takes me into His Presence.  I also know that proclaiming the Word of God is exceptionally powerful. So no matter what I am feeling at the time, I can begin to proclaim the Word of God over situations, over emotions, over people etc. Like laser beams, the Word of God goes into action and will pierce into situations and never return void.

Biblical Meditation.

Biblical meditation is to fill your mind with The Word of God and His ways. There are three aspects of meditation:

  • Mutter: When something goes around and around in your mind. You mutter under your breath.  Mutter the the things of God. “God, you are a good good Father.”
  • Muse: To muse is think about, to ponder, to brood over. It is like a cow chewing the cud (cud is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant’s stomach to the mouth to be chewed for the second time) – you get everything out of it. Let us take the word of God, the promises of God, our prophetic words etc. and muse over them in order to get all we can out of them.
  • Talk: This is very key.  In Joshua 1:8 it says we must meditate with our mouth (lips).  The more we speak about God’s character, give testimony, share His goodness and so on, the more we fill our mind and heart with the amazing goodness of God. This opens the heart to enter into His Presence.

There are undoubtable many more and different ways to step into the Presence of God, but  these are ways that I enter in. May these keys serve to help you do the same. But more importantly, may they entice you to personally find ways to enter into His Presence and to know that deep intimacy with Him. It is a most beautiful place to be.