Part 5 of 7
View the companion video here.
If one is merely faithful to God – even with His help – one could still live a life of duty. But when you combine faithfulness with presence, you have the dual elements which form the core of any covenant relationship.
Being present with God is essential to enjoying His beauty and persona. Loving Him and receiving His love requires presence. Understanding His heart and what He is “all about” requires our steadfast presence with Him. We can’t be present with God without also loving Him (Matthew 22.37).
The Scriptures often speak of God’s presence. The most common Hebrew term for “presence” is translated “face,” indicating a close and personal encounter with the Lord.
Sometimes, God’s presence is something we fear. For example, Adam and Eve’s sin caused them to hide from the Lord in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3.8). They didn’t want to be in His presence because of their sin. God’s holy presence caused Isaiah to see his sinfulness in a new way (Isaiah 6.5). Many people in the Bible who encountered God’s presence, or his angels feared for their lives (Judges 13.22; Luke 1.11–12; 2.9). Jonah tried to escape God’s presence (Jonah 1.3).
Moreover, the whole earth trembles in the presence of God (Judges 5.5; Psalms. 68.8), and false gods also become powerless before him (Isaiah 19.1). Fear and trembling are often the initial responses of people who encounter the presence of God (Jeremiah 5.22). Sometimes, I think when God withholds His presence from us, He’s being merciful and kind.[1]
But God’s presence can also evoke from us opposite responses. For example, His presence can be a comfort in times of trouble or anxiety (Joshua 1.5). Those who need encouragement and strength to praise him can find what they need in His presence (Psalm 42.5). God is so ambiently present that He hears our every word and holds us accountable for what we say (Ecclesiastes 5.2, 6).
God’s is present during our worship of Him. For example, the bread of the Presence reminded Israel of God’s nearness (2 Chronicles 4.19). When Solomon dedicated the temple, the manifestation of God’s glorious presence prevented priests from fulfilling their usual duties (1 Kings 8.10–11). A lack of reverence is tantamount to disrespecting God’s person and results in a lack of proper behavior. Refer to Leviticus 10.1–2 to learn more about this.
Heaven is filled with God’s presence. Angels stand in God’s presence and act on his authority as he directs them (Luke 1.19). God’s divine council rules under His authority and direction, illustrated by Satan gaining God’s permission to attack Job (1.6, 12). Those in heaven – when they learn of one sinner repenting – rejoice with God (Luke 15.10). Christ is now advocating for us in God’s presence (Hebrews 9.24). Furthermore, God promises to hear and forgive those who come into his presence with humble repentance (2 Chronicles 7.13-14).
God’s presence is also a place of judgment. The Lord cast his people from his presence (Jeremiah 15.1; 52.3). Someday, in the future, God will summon all nations before him and the Bible reveals that when He does this, heaven and earth will flee his holy presence (Revelation 20.11). Eternal punishment is about complete separation from God’s presence. This is really the essence of Hell. There is no presence of God in Hell, so only evil can exist there (2 Thessalonians 1.9). [2]
But God’s presence is also a place of blessing. David counted it a joy to experience the Lord’s presence (Acts 2.25, 28), and Peter described it as the source of blessing for all who place their faith in Christ (Acts 3.19). To experience God’s presence is to experience the shining of God’s face (Psalms 67.1). Believers always live in God’s presence, and he notes all their deeds (Malachi 3.16). He has promised to be with us until he comes again (Matthew 28.20).
In the age to come, God’s presence will be the ultimate blessing, for believers will see him face to face (1 John 3.2). This is why the faithful stewards in Matthew 25 were given more of the Master’s presence, not more earthly wealth. God’s presence is incomparably more valuable than any earthly thing we could or will own. This includes gold or silver.
His immediate presence will render a temple unnecessary (Revelation 21.22). It is the anticipation of His. Presence that should motivate us to be faithful stewards here on earth (1 Thessalonians 2.19; 2 Peter 3.10–11).[3]
Perhaps we can begin to see how God’s presence with us and us being present with God becomes the core of our covenant relationship with Him. His presence cannot be demanded or manipulated. Nor can we gain His presence quickly. This isn’t a “one and done” activity. It is a relational cultivation that is gained over time and is only fully realized in the next life. Perseverance is required if we are to find God’s close, loving presence with us.
Distraction is the enemy of living with God’s presence. In personal times of prayer, distraction – a wandering mind – is often the most difficult hurdle to overcome. While we might be able to focus for hours on details and activities at work, we might also find we can’t focus on God for more than a few minutes without our minds wandering off to some other activity, robbing us of intimate time with God.
Being distracted in prayer is a spiritual battle. The forces who oppose God do not want you or I to connect with Him intimately, if at all. They want us focused on that which is temporary and, if possible, sinful. Paul tells us to not even think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Romans 13.14). Our minds and spirits can be fundamentally transformed by the presence of God. The enemy doesn’t want this, so the battle ensues. Noise, distraction, confusion – all are tactics the enemy uses when we’re trying to connect with God in prayer.
Being able to focus in prayer for sustained periods of time is connected to our love for Him and that is connected to our personal worship and praise toward Him. I have found that as I learn to worship and praise Him, I’m less distracted because His presence is more interesting and more fulfilling than any activity than which I can engage on this earth.
My encouragement to you is this. persevere in prayer. Learn to love God with your heart, not just your mind. Keep at it. Learn to worship and praise God on your own – don’t wait for Sunday services. If needed, command the enemy to be silenced, to stop distracting and to stop causing confusion. Ask God for an unusual focus on His voice and His heart. Ask him to transform your heart so that you love Him more than anything or anyone else. Stay with it. Over time, your mind and your spirit will be transformed such that you’ll be able to focus.[4]
If we focus only on faithfulness, our covenant relationship with Him will become one of duty. But if we add to our faithfulness a loving presence with Him, then we will find ourselves being faithful out of our love for Him, not out of a sense of duty. The core of covenant is loving presence, lived out in faithfulness as we persevere to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3.14).
Frankly, most will not take the time and effort required to enter a close presence with God. This leads me to surmise that this is what God will mean when He says, “depart from me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7.21-23). Being with God is at the core of our covenant relationship with Him.
[1] I referred to God being beyond comparison with the gods in His divine counsel in the earlier section The Divine Council. This notion of the otherness of God – that He is so other than us or any god – bears on this discussion about His presence. When He is present with us, His presence is muted. Just like gentleness is strength restrained, so God only becomes present with us only to the extent we can absorb it.
[2] On this earth, we have both God’s presence and Satan’s presence, hence the conflict between good and evil. In Heaven, Satan’s presence is absent and only God’s presence is there, so it is a place without any evil with only righteousness. Hell is the opposite, so it is a place without any presence of righteousness and only the presence of evil.
[3] Beyer, B. E. (1996). Presence of God. In Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed., pp. 629–630). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House. I summarized these two pages to write this section on Presence.
[4] Most media contain constant distractions that call our orientating response to pay attention. We are highly conditioned to lack focus and this contributes to the difficulties we face in concentration. This discussion is outside the scope of this book, but this topic can help inform our need to transform our minds so that we can learn to concentrate in prayer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orienting_response
