Experiencing God's Presence #52

Experiencing God's Presence #52

The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”

Genesis 18:17, NIV

For years, I pleaded my agenda with God—the one big thing I wanted Him to do. I believed it sprang from desires He had planted within me and was therefore part of His plan. But it wasn’t the whole plan. His agenda was bigger. And until I lifted my eyes and saw the big picture of what He was doing—and learned to pray more specifically and purposefully with His agenda in mind—my relationship with Him was a struggle. My prayers were answered sporadically and in parts. I experienced a few of His favors without really experiencing Him.

We experience God’s Presence by catching a vision for what He is doing and getting in on it. That doesn’t mean our desires and dreams are irrelevant; they are often designed to fit His larger purpose. But when our focus is simply on our part of the plan or our own fulfillment in it, our vision is too small and we aren’t near enough to God. When we lift our eyes to embrace His mission in the world, taking our primary focus off our own part in the plan and putting it on the totality of what His heart desires, the Presence powerfully increases. And the beauty of this relationship is that He then begins to fulfill our portion more readily. When we embrace the desires of His heart, He more zealously embraces ours.

God showed Abraham what He was about to do, and He often does the same with all who have entered a friendship with Him. When we enter His confidence by taking up His vision, prayers are answered quicker and more powerfully, and our experience of the Presence increases dramatically. Wherever our hearts align with His, He’s there.

Lord, show me what You are about to do. I lift my eyes up to a vision bigger than myself and my own concerns. I trust You to fulfill my portion of Your plan when I invest myself in the whole.