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PRACTICE GOD’S PRESENCE
A. Introduction: We’re working on a series dealing the fact that God is with us. And we’re talking about
the importance of learning to live with an awareness or consciousness of the fact that He is with us.
1. We opened the series with a statement that King David of Israel made: Ps 23:4—Even though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me (ESV).
a. David faced many fearsome, life-threatening situations in his life. Yet he was able to say: I
fear no evil because you are with me—When I am afraid, I put my trust in you (Ps 56:3, ESV).
1. David knew that God is Omnipresent or present everywhere at once. There’s no place God
is not. No matter where David went, he knew that God was with Him: I can never escape
from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are
there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there (Ps 139:7-8, NLT).
2. David also knew that God with Him was the help he needed no matter what he was facing—
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed with in me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the Help of His presence. (Ps 42:5, NASB).
b. David didn’t see or feel God any more than you or I do because God is invisible (I Tim 1:17).
None of us can perceive Him with our physical senses unless He chooses to reveal Himself to us.
1. Yet David lived with an awareness, a consciousness, that God was with him all the time,
everywhere, and that nothing could come against him that was bigger than God. This
awareness affected how David thought and acted and gave him hope and peace of mind.
2. God is with each and every one of us—all the time, everywhere—just as He was with David,
And, because God is Infinite (without limits), in addition to being Omnipresent, God is with
you as though you are the only person in the world.
2. Notice that when David’s circumstances made him afraid, he put his trust in God. The Hebrew
word that is translated trust means to trust or be confident. “It indicates the feeling of safety and
security that is felt when one can rely on someone or something” (Strong’s Concordance).
a. Since David had confidence or trust in the One who was with Him, he had that sense of safety
and security that is felt when you can rely on Someone to come through for you.
b. Trust is the Old Testament counterpart to the New Testament word faith. Faith is trust or
confidence in a Person. David had faith in God.
1. We can’t see, hear, or feel God, but we can interact with Him by faith. By faith, I talk to
Him, relate to Him, like He’s there—because He is. He’s with me whether I see or feel Him,
whether I believe it or not. But if I believe, I can live with an awareness of His presence.
2. Awareness of God’s presence wasn’t automatic for David, any more than it is for us, because
what we see and feel has the greater reality—especially in the hard times. David had to
purposefully develop an awareness of God with Him, and we need to and can do the same.
B. We need to understand that God is relational. He created human beings in His image and likeness, to
be sons and daughters who know Him and live in loving relationship with Him. Gen 1:27; Eph 1:4-5
1. God is love (I John 4:8; I John 4:16). Love is a relational term. God can do nothing but love. He
created humanity out of love, for the purpose of love.
a. God created us as persons who are capable of having relationships with beings like ourselves—
including Him and other people. We were created to love and be loved.
b. We were created to know God—not just know about Him, but to know Him relationally. True
life, Eternal life, is a conscious knowledge, conscious awareness of Him as a Person.
1. Eccl 3:11—He has made everything beautiful in its time; He also has planted eternity in
men’s hearts [a divinely implanted sense of purpose which nothing under the sun, but only
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God can satisfy] (Amp).
2. John 17:3—This is eternal life: [it means] to know (perceive, recognize, become acquainted
with and understand You, the only true and real God, [and likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as
the] Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, Whom You have sent (Amp).
3. Jer 9:23-24—This is what the Lord says: Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the
mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone: that
they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord Who is just and righteous, whose love
is unfailing, and that I delight in these things. I the Lord, have spoken (NLT).
2. This next point deserves its own lesson, but consider one thing. The fact that God is love, and can
do nothing but love, is a powerful argument for the Trinity—the fact that God is One God who
simultaneously manifests as three Persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
a. These three Persons are distinct but not separate. They co-inhere or share one Divine nature.
They are the same in substance, power, and glory.
1. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are distinct Persons in the sense that each is aware of
the others, speaks to the others, and honors and loves the others.
2. However, all the fulness of Deity (the Divine nature) is shared completely by each Person.
This is a mystery beyond our comprehension. All efforts to explain the Trinity fall far short.
b. Note how the gospel written by John opens: John 1:1—In the beginning, was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God (KJV). The Greek word translated for expresses
continuous action in the past (no beginning). The Word has always existed because He is God.
1. The Greek word translated with (pros) is used several ways in Scripture. Here it refers to a
close, personal relationship. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have enjoyed an
intimate (close, personal relationship) with each other since forever.
2. And we’ve been invited into this relationship: God is to be trusted, the God who called you
to have fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord (I Cor 1:9, Good News Bible).
3. The word fellowship means communion, which is the condition of friendly relationship
existing among persons (Webster’s Dictionary). Fellowship is relational. It involves
enjoyable talk, interaction. God wants relationship with us; we need relationship with Him.
3, The only place of complete happiness, fulfillment, and joy for a human being comes from knowing
God relationally. Fellowship or relationship comes from knowing a person.
a. It’s more than knowing facts about a person. It’s knowing Him through interaction. Webster’s
Dictionary defines relationship as an emotional or other connection between persons.
b. We know about God because someone has told us and we believe—and that’s good start. But
He wants us to know Him for ourselves.
1. John 4:1-26—Jesus had a conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well located outside the
city of Sychar in Samaria. When Jesus told her things about herself that He could not have
known, she became convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Lord our Savior.
2. She told people in the town what happened and they went out to see Jesus. He stayed with
them long enough for many of them to hear his message and believe. John 4:40-41.
3. Then they said to the woman, now we believe because we have heard him ourselves, not just
because of what you told us. He is indeed the Savior of the world. John 4:42
4. In some of our circles we have reduced faith to knowing Bible verses. Yes, we get facts about God
from the Scriptures. And Jesus wants to and does reveal Himself through His written Word.
a. But faith is a relational term because it’s faith in a Divine Person—Scripture gives us knowledge
of Jesus that is meant to bring us into a personal experience of Him. We know Him.
b. What if you had a telescope that you know how to use, but you never look through it to see the
moon and the stars and appreciate their beauty and wonder. You’d miss the point.
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C. God’s presence with you is automatic. Since there’s no place God is not, He is with you whether or not
you know it, feel it, or believe it. However, awareness of His presence is not automatic.
1. Remember, when we talk about becoming aware of God with us, we aren’t talking about having a
supernatural experience. We are talking about relating to Him by faith. Heb 11:1—Faith perceives as
real fact what is not yet revealed to the senses (Amp).
a. There are at least three reasons why awareness or consciousness of God’s presence with you
must be developed. First, because we can’t see or feel Him. Second, because what we see or
feel in the moment has the greater reality for us. And third, because our lives are so busy and
our minds are filled with constant, rapid-fire thoughts about everything but God.
b. You must practice His presence. When you practice something, you repeat an action to gain a
skill. You develop an awareness of God with you by purposefully thinking about Him, and talking
to and about Him as though He is actually with you—because He is.
2. In other words, you seek God. To seek God has several shades of meaning, a primary one being to
seek an awareness or consciousness of His presence in everyday life.
a. David did this. He sought God, he practiced the presence of God. We noted in a previous
lesson that when David was hiding in the wilderness from men who wanted to kill him, he
acknowledged God’s presence by fellowshipping and communing with Him
b. He wrote: I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. I think how much
you have helped me; I sing for joy in the shadow of you protecting wings (Ps 63:6-7, NLT).
1. To meditate means to consider carefully, for a long time. The Hebrew word literally means
to groan, sigh, or mutter. There is another Hebrew word for meditate. It also means to
ponder and implies conversation with one’s self. (The word is often translated complain)
2. When you meditate you focus your attention on something. When we acknowledge His
presence and focus on Him with us, it increases our awareness—He is with me whether I see
or feel Him.
A. David also wrote Ps 16:8—I have set the Lord continually before me (Amp). I will not
be shaken, for he is right beside me (NLT). Set means to level, equalize, by implication,
to adjust. In other words, David said I purposefully set my attention on the Lord. When
what I see is disturbing, frightening, or overwhelming, I adjust myself. I focus on Him
B. Ps 16:8—I have kept the Lord in mind continually (Harrison); I’m always aware of the
Lord’s presence (Good News Bible); I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be
shaken, for he is right beside me (NLT).
c. Remember how we began this series, with David’s statement: Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me. Ps 23:4
1. To fear not doesn’t mean you don’t feel fear. It means when you are afraid, you change
your focus. You put your mental focus or attention on the Lord who is perfectly present
with you, loving and reigning, and upholding all things by the Word of His power.
2 If you don’t have a well-developed habit of doing this before trouble comes, it will be much
harder for you to do when you see the danger and feel the fear. That’s one reason why it is
important to practice focusing your attention on the Lord.
3. The first generation of Christians understood the importance of living with the awareness that God
was with them, and focusing their attention on that fact.
a. Jesus’ apostles saw Him with their eyes for three plus years. Then He left them and returned to
Heaven. Some of Jesus’ last words to these men were: Behold, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age (Matt 28:20, NKJV). The Greek word that is translated behold is a form of a
word that means to know, to be aware.
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b. Once Jesus left them and they could no longer see or feel Him, they would have had to know
how to practice His presence or live with an awareness that He was with them.
4. Paul the apostle wrote an epistle to a group of Hebrew Christians who were experiencing pressure
and persecution for their faith in Jesus. He wrote to encourage them to stay faithful to Jesus.
a. Paul urged them to look away from their circumstances and keep their focus on Jesus: Let us
run with endurance the race that is set before us (KJV), Looking away [from all that will distract]
to Jesus (Amp) on whom our faith depends from start to finish (NLT) (Heb 12:1-2).
b. As Paul closed his letter to these Jewish Christians, he encouraged them by reminding them that
God Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13:5, NKJV).
1. Paul was reminding them of an incident in their history, when Joshua took over as the leader
of Israel (replacing Moses). Joshua was tasked with leading a very difficult group of people into
a land filled with formidable obstacles and enemies.
2. Paul quoted Moses who spoke to Joshua: Do not fear…for it is the Lord your God who
goes with you. He will not leave or forsake you…(He) goes before you. He will be with you.
He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed (Duet 31:6-8, NLT).
b. Then Paul wrote: “So that we may boldly (confidently) say: “The Lord is my helper, And I will
not fear. What shall man do to me?” (Heb 13:6, NKJV).
1. In other words, God says this to you (I won’t leave you or forsake or abandon you) so that
you can say: The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear. What shall man do to me?
2. Note that this is not a word for word quote of the verse. It has become personal, relational.
It has gone from facts about God to experience, awareness: God says this to me. God is
with me, and I know it.
D, Conclusion: You have to work to develop an awareness of God with you. That means taking time to
think about these things and go over and over them in your mind. Let’s close with Ps 46.
1. Ps 46:1-2—God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not
fear (KJV). This is a very powerful verse about the benefit of God’s presence with us.
a. The psalmist goes on to list major catastrophes—earthquakes, mountains, crumbling, oceans
roaring, water surging, and nations in an uproar. Ps 42:3-6).
1. Then he begins to talk about the bigness and greatness of God and His power over all. The
writer says two times: The Lord who rules over all is with us (NIRV); The Lord AllPowerful is with us (CEV). Ps 42:7; 11
2. Then he writes Ps 42:10—Be still and know that I am God (KJV); “Calm down”, and learn
that I am God (NIRV); Be quiet and know that I am God (NCV); Pause a while and know
that I am God (Jeru); wait quietly and you will have proof that I am God (Knox).
b. This psalm gives two elements, key to developing an awareness of God with you, that actually
impacts your daily life. It gives facts about God (how present He is and how big He is). And
then it informs us that if we will relate to Him by faith and purposefully acknowledge Him with
us and for us, we will know that He is God. We will experience Him relationally.
c David wrote: Ps 62:1—I wait quietly before God, for my salvation comes from him (NLT);
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation (ESV).
2. What if you took five minutes a day to get quiet before God (be still), and intentionally focused on
Him, by making yourself think about and say what is so: God you are with me and for, and you are
good, and you are big. (You’re acknowledging His presence thhrough focusing on Him by faith).
3. And then just sit in silence in His presence for a couple of minutes. His promise to us is that we
will know that He is God—not just with the facts, but with an awareness than comes from pausing
before Him. If we seek Him, we will find Him. Much more next week!
