The Presence of God

Exodus 33:12-15 says, “Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, You say to me, “Bring up this people!” But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, “I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’’ Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.’ And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.’ Then he said to Him, ‘If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.’ ”

This has been my desperate cry because I find myself lacking just as much faith. Living in the family that I do, I have become so analytical, which is great when it comes to discernment, but I believe there is a door of faith that can only be opened if you throw your analytical mindset away. Jesus said that if we even had the faith of a small mustard seed that we would be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:12). Shane & Shane say it beautifully in one of their newer songs, “I don’t need to see the cancer go away, I just wanna everything will be okay”

Sometimes we don’t need to move mountains but all we really want is to feel the presence and movement of God. We are told to pray, but isn’t it hard when you feel like you’re just talking to yourself? My prayer always feels so one-sided, like I’m talking God’s ear off. I know He loves and hears me because the Bible says He does, but why can’t I hear His voice? Why don’t I feel His presence? If He’s by my side throughout the entire day, shouldn’t make sense that He’d assure me of such things, maybe by tapping me on the shoulder or putting His hand on back telling me He’s right behind me?

This is what I wanted. This past Sunday I got up early to pray for the congregation and their hearts. I wanted the Spirit to fall on the building like a consuming fire and just fill people with His presence. Even though I had no idea what it all meant or what it looked like, I wanted it. This passage kept coming back to me; just the reality of Moses’ simple request. I prayed that God would show us His glory (Exodus 33:18). I wanted it to be real. My faith was so small and so basic; I just prayed that God would literally walk into the room to reassure us of His reality. I prayed this all morning and during the last song of the last service, I left the stage to go and pray thinking that more people would be touched by me pleading for the presence of God to fall than just simply hearing a tenor voice that was still trying to wake up.

I prayed and pleaded, and when the song was over, the room was so heavy you could feel it. Or, at least, I did. The worship leader told the congregation just to pray because he knew that God has shown a glimpse of who He was, and we needed to stay in that moment for a little bit. I rushed into the sanctuary not knowing what I’d see, but nothing visual had changed, besides everyone sitting in their seats praying quietly. But as I stood in the back, I could feel it… But I still feel like I miss it.

You may have read this post to learn something new about the presence of God, only to find out that I know basically nothing about it. All I know is that I want to be there for the rest of my life. Moses shows his reliance on the glory of God when he says, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” After being in the presence of God, he knows how vital it is to live near or in it. However, in his day, to be in the presence of God took sacrifice and a whole procedure. I’d encourage you to read through Leviticus and understand that God is holy and no one who is unclean can enter into His presence. Like Paul says in Romans six, the law helps us understand how unclean we are so that the Gospel becomes more powerful.

Like I previously stated, I don’t know a lot about what it means for the presence of God to fall in today’s world, but I know because of His power and might that it doesn’t just happen on Sunday, Wednesday, or special revival nights. How do you seek after the presence of God? What can you do every day to experience the goodness of who He is? I’d love for you to contact me with thoughts and questions, with the understanding that I probably don’t have the answer, but I’d love to search after it with you.

It just takes a simple prayer and an open heart for the presence of God to be shown; I believe that – Forsake All