How can I experience God’s presence in my life?
Psalm 145:18The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
The Lord invites us to call on him without hesitation. He promises to reveal himself to us if our heart is sincere in wanting to know him rather than just wanting to use him as a good-luck charm or magic potion.
2 Chronicles 7:14“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
James 4:8Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
Sin drives a wedge between people and God. God reveals himself when we turn from our sinful habits and attitudes by confessing them to him, and then turn to him to be made clean on the inside. Only then can we begin to experience his presence in our life.
Ephesians 3:12Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
Hebrews 4:14-16So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
When Jesus sacrificed his own life for us by dying for our sin, he made it possible for us to live in the presence of God. This involves an almost constant awareness of our access to God and the continuous practice of interacting with God in prayer and obedience.
Psalm 27:4The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.
We can know God and sense his presence through earnest and sincere worship.
Jeremiah 29:11-13“I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”
Seeking and finding God requires purposeful prayer and attention to his Word. Wholehearted seeking means confidence in God’s character and intentions.
Matthew 7:7-11“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”
God invites us to approach him often and persistently. Repetition refines our desires as we shift our focus from what we want or need to enjoying the presence of God himself, the provider of all things.
