Enjoy the Presence of God

If I were writing for a school of prayer, I would say that beyond respecting and honoring God as Father, one must also enjoy his presence. God, of course, is here within us. There is zero distance between ourselves and God, yet our state of consciousness does not usually see that nearness. We have to move our state of consciousness from not recognizing the presence of God to a state enjoying that presence.

In Isaiah 40:3-5 God says, “In the wilderness open up (change) a way for YHWH, and build a path in the valley (crevices) for our God—all the gorges filled and all the mountains and highlands made low, the rugged terrain smoothed over (the particles used as a filler), and the inaccessible (difficult) country made into a plain. Thus the glory of YHWH is revealed and all flesh sees Him, for it is the mouth of YHWH that speaks” (my take on Victor Alexander’s and Robert Young’s translations).

“Enter . . . into his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4); i.e., with enjoyment of his presence. I remember my friend Janet Gunther who in her private devotions found herself in his courts. In the ecstasy of his presence she heard, “You are healed.” And she was, of tuberculosis.

Asking for the gift of tongues, I was rejected of God. My honor and respect of his Fatherhood at my conversion had been phony baloney. I had accepted God and Jesus mentally, but I did not find true and humble submission to him. When I now did (I really didn’t like rejection), in my bowed mind’s eye I saw his presence as glory above me. Waiting silently enjoying it, I heard, “Remember this, and it is all right.” I was accepted, baptized, and given the gift.

Any evangelistic meeting begins with much singing, praise, thanksgiving, and exhortation to sense the presence of God. Kathryn Kuhlman, T.L. Osborn — any such effort starts with getting everyone to recognize that God is there, ”Right here, right now.” This is to get us to move the highs and lows of our attitude and emotional state into a straight way for God. The onus is on us!

Jacob wrestled all night with the Man—HIMSELF. He wrestled without surrender to make his way straight, and saw the presence of God. Gee, do you think God put any hints about this in scripture? “If my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and pray AND SEEK MY FACE and turn from their wicked ways, then I hear from heaven, and I forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel, . . . love YHWH with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”

Goodness, one could go on for hours, days, even weeks pulling verses of love and enjoyment of God out of the scriptures, recounting incidences of our and others’ experiences. All this reminds me of a song:

On the Street Where You Live.

I have often walked down this street before
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before
All at once am I several stories high
Knowing I'm on the street where you live

Are there lilac trees in the heart of town?
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?
Does enchantment pour out of every door?
No, it's just on the street where you live

And oh, the towering feeling just to know somehow you are near
The overpowering feeling that any second you may suddenly appear

People stop and stare, they don't bother me
For there's nowhere else on earth that I would rather be
Let the time go by, I won't care if I
Can be here on the street where you live

Songwriters: Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe
On the Street Where You Live lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

An interesting note on the scene in the movie: Freddy stops to wait for his beloved, and in the last second of this scene the street lights are dimmed on Freddy because it is morning. See the light now of sunrise on the building. He has waited through the night in that second, for he so enjoys the presence of his Eliza Doolittle. Or so I think. Makes me feel better, anyway.