The Breastplate of Righteousness

by Rocky Fleming

Day 4: Protected by God’s Presence

“Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise.”

St. Patrick

I often gather a group of men and leave an empty chair.  When asked why I do this, I answer, "So that Jesus has a seat."  I get some weird looks at times.  Sometimes in group prayer, I ask people to close their eyes and to imagine that Jesus stands right beside them when they pray.  I wait until they focus on that thought before we start.  I have observed that the group has a more focused prayer toward Jesus who stands next to them, and it seems more personal between them as the focus moves from each other to Him.  After our prayer, I ask them to look at some Scriptures that point to the presence of Christ when we gather in His name and serve Him, such as:

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”  (Matthew 18:20 ESV)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matthew 28: 19-20 ESV)

My hope in introducing this focus on His promises and the use of our imagination to see using the eyes of our faith is to help us all understand that we are in the presence of Jesus whether we realize it or not.  It becomes so much better for us when we embrace the focused thought that He is.  Some other people you might know try to do the same.  For example:

“You can actually encounter the living Christ in the event, be addressed by his voice and be touched by his healing power. It can be more than an exercise of the imagination; it can be a genuine confrontation.  Jesus Christ will actually come to you.”  Richard Foster

 “I started slowly to turn my worries into ‘breath prayers’ to help practice the presence of God.”  Nancy Ortberg

 “I have picked up on the terminology of Brother Lawrence who called praying unceasingly practicing God’s presence. In fact, practicing God’s presence has been my number one goal for the last year.”  Beth Moore

One of the most special Christian books written was by the man, Brother Lawrence, that Beth Moore references.  Its name … The Practice of the Presence of God.  In this book, Brother Lawrence leads the reader to Scriptures and thoughts about imagining our self in the presence of God.  This book has been a major resource for people who desire to live more consistently with the awareness of God wherever they are and whatever they are doing.

Now there is no doubt in my mind that if any of us saw Jesus standing beside us and realized that He heard every word we said, and He saw every deed we did, we would try to speak and act in a way that would please Him.  Are we hypocrites in trying to have Him see us in a good light rather than the way we normally are?  Well yes, kinda.  But I don’t think we try to be hypocrites.  I think we just do what comes naturally, and our flesh tendencies take over which we often regret.  This is a good example of why we need a Savior who doesn’t require our perfection to have His love.  This is why we need a Redeemer to save us from our past and future sins.  Even so, it should not remove our desire or need to want to live in a way that pleases Him, and it is for this reason I believe we have a better shot at it when we are aware of His presence.

St. Patrick was another one of God’s kids who made it his mission to practice realizing God’s presence in his life.  And it was the knowledge of His presence that became a piece of armor in Patrick’s breastplate of righteousness.  He knew that Jesus was his shield and this made him courageous and able to do extraordinary things for God’s glory.  The reason is clear and simple.   Jesus stood beside Patrick wherever he was … and Patrick knew it.