Inviting His Presence
There are times when we experience the presence of God in a real and powerful way. Perhaps we have had encounters like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32 (NLT).
At other times the presence of God brings conviction. Isaiah exclaimed: “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Isaiah 6:5 (NLT)
Should we always have the expectation of experiencing God’s presence? What can we do to invite his presence? Are we afraid of what might happen in his presence, and do we become satisfied with our religious traditions? Do we check the box of obligation and go on with our lives intentionally avoiding an encounter with the living God?
Lord, grant us the passion and desire to live in your presence. May we be like the Psalmist who said: O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. Psalm 63:1–4 (NLT)
We should long for the presence of God like someone who is thirsty, longs for water.
It Is Often Missing
I do not want to go through the motions of spiritual existence. Experiencing the presence of God is more than just a warm feeling or even the conviction of sin. It is so much more. The presence of God is the only way we can experience his power and see his purposes fulfilled in us and through us.
We should never settle for living our lives apart from his presence. A. W. Tozer lamented:
The Presence of God in our midst—bringing a sense of Godly fear and reverence—this is largely missing today. You cannot induce it by soft organ music and light streaming through beautifully designed windows. It cannot be induced by holding up a biscuit and claiming that it is God. You cannot induce it by any kind or any amount of mumbo-jumbo. What people feel in the presence of that kind of paganism is not the true fear of God. It is just the inducement of a superstitious dread. A true fear of God is a beautiful thing, for it is worship, it is love, it is veneration. It is a high moral happiness because God is.[1]
When we gather in our church services, prayer meetings, or even small groups, we should be like Moses: “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” Exodus 33:15 (NIV). Jesus told us, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” Lord, stir up within us all longing for your presence.
Inviting His Presence
In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” Hosea 6:2–3 (NLT)
There is a school of thought that claims that God sovereignly decides when and where he will reveal his presence. However, we see two things here in Hosea. First, Hosea urges us to “press on to know him.” We must respond to the desires deep within us to draw close to God. Yes, God sometimes intervenes sovereignly, even unexpectedly, but he responds to our heart cries. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? Psalm 42:2 (NLT)
Secondly, Hosea lets us know that God will respond to us. Even more certain than the sun rising in the morning. If we draw near to God, he will draw near to us.
Worship Invites His Presence
Yet I know that you are most holy; it’s indisputable. You are God-Enthroned, surrounded with songs, living among the shouts of praise of your princely people. Psalm 22:3 (TPT)
The KJV says, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” Praise and worship do not always come easy. We do not always feel the urge or desire to worship God. At times it is a sacrifice, but it is a sacrifice that God observes and rewards.
We do not experience the reality of God’s presence sometimes because of complacency and at other times because of low expectations. We take his presence for granted: For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20 (NIV). Or, we believe that we have fulfilled our obligations by meeting together. Tozer again observes:
The Presence and the manifestation of the Presence are not the same. There can be the one without the other. God is here when we are wholly unaware of it. He is manifest only when and as we are aware of His presence. On our part, there must be surrender to the Spirit of God, for His work is to show us the Father and the Son. If we cooperate with Him in loving obedience, God will manifest Himself to us, and that manifestation will be the difference between a nominal Christian life and a life radiant with the light of His face.[2]
We need the presence of God more than the air we breathe or the water we drink. There is a difference between merely existing and experiencing the abundant life that God intends for us. Worship is the key to inviting the continual presence of God in our lives and gatherings.
Steve Ekeroth
[1] Aiden Wilson Tozer, Whatever Happened to Worship?: A Call to True Worship (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread, 2006), 33.
[2] A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Camp Hill, PA: WingSpread, 2006), 60.
Praying with you that this Pentecost Sunday will be just that, really Pentecost…an outpouring of the wonderful presence of God on his church, that will pour out into the streets for the glory of God.
I am reminded of the river in Ezekiel (chapter 47) and the Millenial Temple. The river kept rising. Jimmy Swaggart preached on that decades ago and I still remember it. I believe as the Spirit is outpoured on the church the church will rise to new heights and get a fresh vision of God as the spiritual river will lift us above the mundane things of earth below and lift us into His Presence. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” .