Experiencing God's Presence #234

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Deuteronomy 31:8

Numerous passages of Scripture remind us that God is always with us. The fact of His Presence isn’t in question. The issue is whether we remain aware of His Presence or not. And surprisingly, the degree to which we are aware of Him seems to correlate to the level at which we experience Him. In other words, though His Presence is always with us, He seems more available to us when we notice.

Perhaps that’s because when we’re aware of Him, we tend to talk to Him more. We ask for His help, therefore we receive it. When we don’t ask for His help—well, He helps in some ways anyway because His mercy is great. But He doesn’t step into our circumstances as often. As James said, “You don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it” (James 4:2). Apparently, asking is important. And awareness is the first step in asking.

But even before our increased asking, simply noticing His Presence seems to motivate Him to speak to us and to move on our behalf. He knows when He has our attention and when He doesn’t. And when He does, He seems to intervene much more often than He otherwise would.

One of the most important exercises in Presence is one of the simplest: remind yourself that He is there. Whatever it takes, call Him to mind frequently. There’s nothing superspiritual about that; it’s a mental practice like remembering the items on your to-do list or keeping track of the time. Reminding yourself of the truth of His Presence as often as you can—every day, every hour, every minute—will increase the power of His Presence in your life.

Lord, help me remember. I give you complete permission to jar my memory as often as You need to. I always want to be aware that You are here.

From the book