Last week I gave you four ways to notice God is right next to you. But the list goes on. Here are three more ways to notice God’s presence, and it’s easier than you think.
- Believe He is Near
Too often we don’t feel like God is near. Yet, God wants our faith that He is who His Word says He is and He will do what He promises, regardless of what our feelings and emotions tell us. Scripture says the “righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17) and “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore, we shouldn’t have to feel God to know He’s there. In fact, relying on our feelings is a direct contradiction to faith. Tell God you believe He’s there and talk to Him, by faith, believing He is. Hebrews 11:1 tells us faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Be assured and convicted of His presence and you will not only sense Him, you will please His heart.
2. Cultivate a Humble Heart
James 4:6 tells us “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (NKJV). If we don’t want God to “resist” us because we’ve been resisting Him, verses 7-8 instruct us to“submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” Verse 8 continues by telling us to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts so we’re not double-minded, which means dabbling with one foot in God’s Word and the other foot in the world.
That passage of Scripture is not saying “clean up your act before God will come near.” If that were the case, none of us could be in God’s presence because we are incapable of cleaning up our act, ourselves. But when we consider that Jesus did what was necessary to clean us up and seal our inheritance as a child of God through His death for us on the cross, and we humbly surrender to His lordship, He is there waiting for us to indicate we want to go deeper. A humble heart attracts the heart of God, so acknowledge to Him that you long for His presence as the sons of Korah did in Psalm 42.
3. Walk with Him
Scripture indicates God longs to walk with His created. After God made Adam and Eve, and they chose to rebel against Him, Scripture records God “walking in the garden in the cool of the day,” looking for His beloved, desiring their company, their companionship, their unity they once shared as they walked together. Scripture records the account, years later, of a man named Enoch who “walked faithfully with God” for 300 years.
You don’t have to be living in the Old Testament to walk closely with God. Today, we have the atoning work of Jesus to bring us back into close communion and daily fellowship with God. And, because of the indwelling Spirit of God, as a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can now have an even closer walk with God than anyone did prior to Jesus’s death on the cross. So, get outside and walk in your garden, in a park, through a meadow or woods, along the beach, or through a quiet part of your neighborhood. There’s something therapeutic about walking and talking to God, especially when you remember you have the privilege of walking with Him in the cool of the day as if He was right there – because He is.
Which of these three steps will you practice today so you can sense God’s presence even nearer? I’d love to hear your response in the comment section below.
(For more on growing in your relationship with God so you can sense His presence and hear His voice, see my books, Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs, and When Women Long for Rest.)
