Experiencing the Presence of God

 What I want at this point is to know God and to experience God in a personal way. This is how I ended my last blog, and I want to pursue it further.

Where do you start? I think by being still. Psalm 46:10 advises, “Be still and know that I am God.” Recognizing God, letting the reality of God sink in, paying attention to God, is where we have to start. To do that, we have to stop other things for a while, clear a space in our consciousness, let God be God, set our minds free to know the ultimate reality over all things. It even means we don’t have to work at it. We don’t have to do anything but be in the presence of God. Just be still and know. This practice is often called contemplation.

Contemplation assumes that we do know something. God has made himself known—through actions in the history of Israel and the church, through the revealing life of Jesus Christ, through the Scriptures, through the teachings of the church through the ages, and by the witness of people today who know God. But contemplation looks at that, condenses it into one supreme truth, lays aside the study notes, and simply knows that God is God. There is a lot to know about God, but you don’t have to know very much to experience the presence of God.

Contemplation grows into prayer. Awareness of God calls for a response. Personal knowledge involves two-way communication. Prayer is confession, taking honest inventory and admitting the things that keep us from God. Prayer is adoration, pouring out our hearts in awe and wonder at the greatness of God. Prayer is giving thanks as we express our gratitude for God’s blessings. Prayer is petition, as we ask God to provide for our needs and the needs of others. Most importantly, prayer is conversation between a child of God and the loving Father.

Prayer grows into worship and community. The knowledge of God has to be shared with others and expressed publicly. We are helped by the presence of others who know God. We are supported by the worshipping, witnessing community, which is the church.

The fact that God tells us to be still and know God suggests that this is something we have to be told. Experiencing the presence of God doesn’t just happen. It requires an intentional movement. It also needs to be reinforced and sustained by repeated practice. It’s not something you do once and then move on. It is a way of living that leads to fullness of life.

Jeremiah 29:12-13 offers this promise: “Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.”