PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF GOD – HOW TO DO IT EFFECTIVELY

What is the presence of God?

The presence of God is the awareness that God is in you and around you. It is also God’s consciousness you have allowed in your heart. As a believer, there is a sense of God’s presence in your life when you pray, study God’s word, or go about your daily activities. 

However, you will realize that some believers experience God’s presence whenever they pray but cannot feel God while doing other daily activities. What do you think could be the cause of this? Is it possible to feel the atmosphere of God’s presence even when doing your normal daily activities? What exactly does God’s presence look like?

Of course, I know many people would say God is everywhere, and so is His presence. While this is true, God has a real presence that you can experience vitally and feel tangibly. 

The art of practicing the presence of God is about creating awareness of God’s presence around your life. Yes, I know that God is with you, but you need that sense of awareness to experience Him consciously. In this blog post, I will share with you how to practice the presence of God daily at any time and in every place.

The Presence of God is to Be Desired

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.

Psalms 42:1

The only thing that can ever satisfy the soul of mankind is the presence of God. Always let your soul crave for God daily. Let the thought of God preoccupy your mind at every time. This is how your desire for God’s presence can become a reality. Through consistent desires, we stir our hearts to manifest the object of our desires.

Subsequently, I want you to consider the way you crave to have a taste of your favorite food. Once that craving begins, nothing else could satisfy your taste except you get to eat your favorite. Similarly, this is how God’s presence feels. The moment you have allowed the desire of God’s presence to be the only thing on your mind, it becomes addictive that it almost feels impossible to survive without God’s presence. 

The truth is that God manifests His presence only to a heart that longs and desperately seeks Him. You have not enjoyed God’s manifested presence because you are yet to master the art of desiring Him above everything else. 

Today, I want you to put aside every other craving you have and keep your gaze on the Almighty God. Seek Him first in the morning. Let God be a major part of your day and let Him be the last person you want to bid goodnight before you sleep.

Practicing the Presence of God requires the Deadness of your flesh

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Isaiah 6:1

The prophet Isaiah was one of the strongest Old Testament prophets who had been prophesying powerfully without the manifest presence of God. The truth is, God’s presence is not a positional right. You could be a Bishop without the manifest presence of the Lord. God’s presence is for sons and daughters of God, who had allowed themselves to be dead to the flesh.

Interestingly, practicing God’s presence needs a dimension of deadness in us. That was why Isaiah couldn’t see God until something died. Dear believer, I know you want to experience God in the most amazing way. But, you need to be dead to your flesh. What does it mean to be dead to the flesh?

Deadness to your flesh means you do not allow these three entities to dictate the pace of your life:

1. Lust of the flesh- The unbridled sexual urge to satisfy your flesh through pornography, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, and other sexual activities

2. Lust of the eyes- This is the sinful desire to always have what you see. The lust of the eyes makes you have everything you crave for. This is to live without a compass of direction in your spirit.

3. Pride of life- The pride of life is anything you are or have that arouses a sense of pride, arrogance, and self in you.

All these three must die for you to host God’s presence and manifest it everywhere you go.

Practicing the Presence of God is an act of Discipline

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was unaware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.

Exodus 34:29

The truth is, your flesh will fight you when you try to practice God’s presence. It is not always an easy task for the flesh. However, you will need to break the barrier of the flesh to press into the holy of holies where the presence of God abides. To do this, you will need to stay long in prayers with God.

The Bible talked about how the countenance of Moses was altered after spending 40 days on the mountain alone with God. 

Perfect!

This is exactly what happens to you when you stay long enough to fellowship with God either in prayers or in the study of His word. Dear believer, you need to understand that it takes discipline to break through from the realm of the flesh into the Spirit to manifest God’s presence. This kind of discipline requires that you stay on God until all of you become all of Him. 

Practicing God’s Presence requires Intentionality

Be intentional about God, and He will do the same to you. God’s presence manifest can be felt even in the smallest of your day’s activity if only you know how to deliberately allow Him. God does not force Himself on people. But anyone who let Him into their daily work, He moves through whatever they do, no matter how small it could be.

Offer your daily task to God. According to Brother Lawerence in his book, the practice of God’s presence, the presence of God, helps him slow down and concentrate on the task at hand. And like Eknath Easwaran would say, concentration is consecration.

In conclusion, you do not need to have a title to learn the art of practicing the presence of God. Every believer needs this presence either as a professional in your office or just in any of your day-to-day activities. The divine presence of God is what creates the difference between you and an ordinary human. Therefore, learn how to manifest God’s presence as from now henceforth.

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