Have you ever heard the phrase, “practicing the presence of God”?  I’ve heard it many times over my life, and have run into it again several times lately in various venues of life.  The phrase challenges me every time I hear it, because it calls me to a lifestyle of allowing myself to remember that God is with me all the time, and he wants to fill my days with my recognition of that presence.  Even more than that, he wants me to “practice” his presence – which speaks to my own effort to let him be part of whatever I am doing, and by his involvement to change how I do anything, and everything, I do.

I’ve enjoyed, over this last holiday weekend, being around several people.  I went to our home church and enjoyed Bible study and worship with people I have come to love and appreciate.  I played golf with friends from church (at least for me one of those “great times of fellowship” – which means I didn’t play very well).  I spent time with my son, his fiance and her son, just cooking out and relaxing on the patio.  It was a great weekend being with people and enjoying their company.  And, when I am with folks in times like that I focus on their lives, and talk about the issues of life, and acknowledge them by listening to them and just giving them my attention.  However, all of those encounters are passing, they come and go.

God, on the other hand, is with me all the time.  His Spirit lives in me, and his Word is part of my daily experience as I open it to study or just read for my own good.  The key to all of this is that he is with me all the time.  And so, just like when I am with friends and family, I should engage him, give attention to him, listen to his voice, discuss the issues of life.  And, in a moments notice, I should just attend to him when I am rejoicing or hurting, when I am afraid or confused, when something comes up unexpectedly and surprises me.  He is there, and he wants to be part of my daily experience, and even moment by moment not just in communication, but in control of my thoughts, my words, my actions and my plans.

The Word of God says this to us, “Be very careful then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:15-16).  And then I think of Noah and Enoch in the Scriptures of whom it is said, they “walked with God”.  It even says in Genesis that Enoch “walked with God 300 years”.  What does that mean?  We are not exactly sure, and in neither case is it expounded in depth, but I think I can imagine that it means as they lived their lives they were in touch with, and in tune with, God.  They understood his heart, and lived out the practice of the presence of God.

I am hoping that I can continue to learn that same practice of the presence of God in my own life.  While I know God, and I fellowship with God, and I worship God, I want to know his presence more and more in the daily avenues and grind of life.  And, I think as we are able to begin to practice the presence of God we will begin to understand even better the heart cry of Paul when he said, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10).  It is in experiencing the presence of God as a daily presence that we are freed to live a new life, raised from the dull-drums of routine and stagnation.