Perhaps many have wondered how to feel the presence of godWhen we talk about experiencing the presence of God, things can get really weird, really fast. Suddenly, we are in the realm of the subjective, of feelings, of supernatural experiences that go beyond the daily norm.
How do you feel the presence of God?
As we read the Scriptures, we can become convinced that God wants us to truly experience his presence on a daily basis. We just need to change our perspective about what it means to experience the presence of God.
With that mindset of really knowing what it feels like to truly experience the presence of our God, here are four simple and profound ways we can enjoy God’s presence every day:
1 – We are always in the presence of God
Let’s start with the most obvious. Since God is omnipresent, we are always in his presence. He thinks about it for a second and sees if it doesn’t cause a shiver of pleasure. Every second of every day, we really are in the presence of God.
We do not need to do any special ritual or pilgrimage to a holy city. No need to handle relics or offer prayers to saints. But because we are in Christ, this reality is even deeper. We are not alone in the presence of God in the same way that the rest of creation is.
Rather, the presence of God has made his home in us. The Holy Spirit has established his residence in us, and we really are temples of God. That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
These are absolutely awesome words. The presence of God, the same presence that caused Isaiah to fall in terror, is nowhere to be found. If we are in Christ, the presence of God truly is within us, and we have access to this glorious presence at all times through Christ our mediator.
Isn’t this amazingly good news? God’s presence is not walled off by a massive curtain, not hidden within the Holy of Holies, accessible only by the High Priest once a year. The Holy Spirit has relocated and now dwells within.
We can communicate with God and experience his presence in the car, on the subway, in our cubicle, in small groups, and anywhere else. God’s sweet, holy presence is always available to us, and we don’t need to use any manipulative “revival” techniques to access it.
2 – Through the Scriptures
The best way to learn how to feel the presence of God is through the Bible. Just as God’s presence hovered over the waters in Genesis 1, so it hovered over the pages of Scripture. The Bible is not an ordinary book, it is not a mere collection of words and pages.
Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that the Word of God is alive: because the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of the , and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
When we open the pages of Scripture, we find the living, active, and speaking God. God can speak to you in a thousand ways while you read the scriptures he can:
- Convict you of sin and lead you to repentance.
- Strengthen and encourage you in the depths of your soul.
- Ask you to pray for a friend who is struggling and is behind.
- Take you to your knees in worship.
Every time we open the Bible, we encounter the presence of the Most High in a unique and powerful way. We are foolish to try to experience God’s presence elsewhere if we are not constantly immersing ourselves in God’s word.
3 – Through prayer
Consider, for a moment, the glorious nature of the . God, the creator of the universe, the King of Kings, the one who keeps the planets in their proper orbit and the atoms do not split, wants us to ask him for things. He is absolutely amazing.
God wants us to bring our burdens to Him, to ask Him for big and bold things. And this is not a simple exercise, like writing a diary or talking about problems with friends. When we pray, God really does things! God’s presence suddenly inhabits all the big and small details of our lives:
- Lift our burdens and give us peace.
- It gives us power to overcome our sin.
- Heal the sick.
- He saves the rebel and seizes the drifter.
- It meets our needs.
- When we pray, God takes action.
Nothing is well done without prayer for the simple reason that it leaves God out of the picture. When we pray, God is accounted for, and when that happens, nothing is impossible. When God enters the equation, the normal laws of nature go out the window.
If we want to know what God’s presence feels like on a daily basis, it’s as simple as praying. Isn’t that glorious? Prayer says to God, “Please come and invade the details of my day. I’m not enough on my own for the day, but you are.
4 – Having fellowship with Christians
In Matthew 18:20, Jesus said that where two or three are gathered together, there he is. In other words, Jesus himself is present only when Christians gather in his name.
I take Matthew 18:20 to mean that God’s presence is manifested in a unique way when believers come together. In other words, we experience his presence in a way that we simply cannot when we are alone.
God does something special when we pray, sing, and serve together. I think this is partly why the author of Hebrews says: do not neglect to meet together, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and even more so when you see the Day drawing near.
Experience the presence of God is never “strange.” Don’t get me wrong, there will be times when it will be amazingly supernatural. When God answers prayers in ways that are humanly impossible.
When He absolutely levels you through a particular passage of Scripture. When another Christian has deep insight into your life. However, more often than not, our experience of God’s presence will be very “ordinary” (as if encountering God is ordinary; get the point?).
This should be a deep encouragement for us. We don’t need to work in an emotional state to experience God. We don’t need to go to a conference or travel to a special meeting (not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that).
We can experience the beautiful and glorious presence of God every day. What a privilege!