What is God’s presence?
What does it mean to experience His presence?
Many Christians today question what it really means to experience it. When we look in the Bible, it talks about it numerous times. “And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14
I remember the first time I felt His tangible presence. I was a little kid at church and had gone to the front for prayer. Before I could comprehend or fully understand what was happening, my entire body felt like it was engulfed in flames. A cloud of immense heat seemed to be radiating off of me as I lay on the floor. The feeling was liberating, not painful or uncomfortable in any way. Up until that point, I was always confused by what it meant to experience His presence and power like that. The fear of the unknown and lack of experience can be scary and often cause us to hold back in our approach to God.
Perhaps you’ve never experienced His tangible presence. Maybe you’ve experienced it before long ago, but lately its felt like God is far away and has forgotten you. Let me tell you right now, He has NEVER forgotten you. Even though it may feel like God is nowhere to be found in your life or He doesn’t hear you, it’s never because He has forgotten you or has stopped loving you any less.
Feelings and emotions are fickle. They are constantly changing, which means they are an unreliable means to base our life around. Truth is, God’s presence is always with us even if we can’t feel Him. One of His promises is that He would never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5) Understandably, the troubles and stress of life can discourage us. Our minds become so consumed with the noise and what’s happening around us that we unknowingly disconnect from the loving father that was there the whole time.
Here are some ways to help you experience and sense His loving presence when it feels like He’s far away.
- Talk to Him
It sounds easy, but can also be easily forgotten. I know for me personally, there have been countless times where I’ve gone through the whole day and by the time I lay down to go to sleep, it hits me that I never even acknowledged Him once. Jesus wants us to talk to Him. He wants us to tell Him all the details, good and bad. Tell Him what’s bothering you and the desires of your heart. How can we come to know Him and His presence, if we never commune with Him? The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, and He always hears our cries. (Psalm 145:18-19)
2. Be Real With Him
Many times we hold back. I know I did. Even though He already knows every detail about our lives, He still wants us to be real and come clean with Him about everything. This could include things we feel convicted about, things that worry us, or something that we’ve subconsciously kept bottled up inside. It’s one thing to experience His presence at church or at some event, but it’s a whole other experience when we are the ones that initiate it within that secret place alone with God.
The first time I genuinely felt His presence alone in my room was when I stopped praying my half-hearted, cookie cutter prayer and stopped holding back. At this time in my life, I had a lot of turmoil built up inside me and was almost in denial of certain wounds that had taken place deep in my soul. I was terrified to acknowledge them out loud to Him, but even more I was exhausted of trying to carry the weight of that pain all by myself. I was desperate to find Him and desperate to experience the love He had for me. The second I finally let go of the front I was putting up, I began to weep. The moment I poured out the weight of my heart and told Him every detail, I felt the comfort of His presence wrap around me. He had never left.
If there’s something you’ve been holding back from God, just give it to Him. He already knows, but there’s an increase of our intimacy with Him when we have that verbal exchange. You can go to your hiding place and trust Him with your deepest secrets, for He will tuck them away in His own heart.
“Lord, you are my secret hiding place, protecting me from these troubles, surrounding me with songs of gladness! Your joyous shouts of rescue release my breakthrough.” Psalm 32:7 (TPT)
3. Don’t Chase After A Feeling
One thing I learned in my walk with God is that you can’t cling to a feeling. It’s easy to let ourselves grow attached to a certain emotion. Some Christians have become so obsessed with feeling the Lord’s presence that they forget to simply seek Him. We shouldn’t come to God in prayer just to get a nice feeling and then leave. We should be spending time with Him because we wholeheartedly love Him. When we focus on seeking Him and praising Him, His presence will flow naturally. It will never be something we can make happen.
4. Wait On Him
It’s easy to get frustrated when things don’t happen the exact way or as fast as we expect them to. Truth is, you can’t rush the Holy Spirit. It’s vital that we set aside time specially for the Lord and wait on Him. One reason you may not be able to sense His presence could be due to not waiting on Him enough. The flow of praise will come to us easily some days and some days it will take pressing through. We can’t sit down and say, “Okay God, I gotta leave for work in fifteen minutes, so you need to show up by then.” You won’t get anywhere or have quality time with the Lord with a hasty mindset. If he is truly our priority, we will intentionally carve out solid time with Him.
At the same time, God understands our human nature and how busy life can be. While there’s no strict formula of how long we should pray or read the word, it doesn’t change the fact that we should be chasing after God with all our hearts. If I’m rushing out the door so I can leave for work on time, I will intentionally plan quality time for Him when I come home. Your time with Him doesn’t always have to look the same, but it should be enough where you have received what He has for you that day.
“Here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Don’t give up; don’t be impatient;
be entwined as one with the Lord. Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope.Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!” Psalm 27:14 (TPT)
How Hungry Are You?
In the end, it all comes down to your desire to know Him. He will never force Himself upon you, so when you come to Him with expectation and hunger, He will faithfully reveal Himself to you.
Is there something you haven’t told God? Are you holding back in your worship or prayer? Are you giving Him the time He deserves? Are you waiting on Him?
Be stubborn in your faith, and pour out your heart to the Lord.
Not once has He left you.
He’s waiting for you right now.
