Nearer Than We Imagine: Meditations on Practicing the Presence of Godنموونە

Daily Practicing God’s Presence

It isn’t necessary that we stay in church in order to remain in God’s presence. We can make our hearts personal chapels where we can enter anytime to talk to God privately. These conversations can be so loving and gentle, and anyone can have them.

Is there any reason not to begin? He may be waiting for us to take the first step. Because we have such a short time to live, we should spend our remaining time with God. Even suffering will be easier when we are with Him, but without Him, even the greatest pleasures will be joyless. May He be blessed in everything!

Gradually train yourself to show your love for Him by asking for His grace. Offer your heart to Him at every moment. Don’t restrict your love for Him with rules or special devotions. Go out in faith, with love and humility.

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Whatever we do, even if we are reading the Word or praying, we should stop for a few minutes—as often as possible—to praise God from the depths of our hearts, to enjoy Him there in secret. Since we believe that God is always with us, no matter what we may be doing, why shouldn’t we stop for awhile to adore Him, to praise Him, to petition Him, to offer Him our hearts, and to thank Him?

What could please God more than for us to leave the cares of the world temporarily in order to worship Him in our spirits? These momentary retreats serve to free us from our selfishness, which can only exist in the world. In short, we cannot show our loyalty to God more than by renouncing our worldly selves as much as a thousand times a day to enjoy even a single moment with Him.

This doesn’t mean we must ignore the duties of the world forever; that would be impossible. Let prudence be our guide. However, I do believe that it is a common mistake of Spirit-filled people not to leave the cares of the world periodically to praise God in their spirits and to rest in the peace of His divine presence for a few moments.

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In the beginning of this practice [of God’s presence], it would not be wrong to offer short phrases that are inspired by love, such as “Lord, I am all Yours,” “God of love, I love You with all my heart,” or “Lord, use me according to Your will.” However, remember to keep your mind from wandering or returning to the world. Hold your attention on God alone by exercising your will to remain in His presence.

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I consider God my King, against whom I’ve committed all sorts of crimes. Confessing my sins to Him and asking Him to forgive me, I place myself in His hands to do whatever He pleases with me.

This King, who is full of goodness and mercy, doesn’t punish me. Rather, He embraces me lovingly and invites me to eat at His table. He serves me Himself and gives me the keys to His treasury, treating me as His favorite. He converses with me without mentioning either my sins or His forgiveness. My former habits are seemingly forgotten. Although I beg Him to do whatever He wishes with me, He does nothing but caress me. This is what being in His holy presence is like.

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We must carefully examine ourselves to see which virtues we are in most need of and which we find the hardest to acquire. We should also take note of the sins that we most frequently fall into and what occasions contribute to our fall. In our times of struggle with these areas, we can go before God with entire confidence and remain in the presence of His divine majesty. In humble adoration, we must confess our sins and weaknesses to Him, lovingly asking for the help of His grace in our time of need. Then, we will find that we can partake of all the virtues found in Him, even though we do not possess any of our own.

Although this exercise [of remaining in God’s presence] may be difficult at first to maintain, it has marvelous effects on the soul when it is faithfully practiced. It draws the graces of the Lord down in abundance and shows the soul how to see God’s presence everywhere with a pure and loving vision, which is the holiest, firmest, easiest, and the most effective attitude for prayer.

Thought: Wouldn’t we be happy if we could find the full treasure described in the Gospel? Nothing else matters. This treasure is infinite; the more we explore it, the more riches we find. May we never stop searching until we have found all of it!