How to Be a Modern MonkSample

Day 2 — Practicing God’s Presence

Practicing presence is not about creating God’s presence—for He is omnipresent—but rather about cultivating our awareness of His constant presence. It’s about learning to recognize and connect with God in the mundane moments of our daily lives, not just during designated prayer times or church services.

There are three distinct ways we can understand God’s presence:

1. Omnipresence: God is everywhere, all the time. As Psalm 139 beautifully articulates, we can go nowhere to escape God’s presence.
2. Manifested Presence: This is when God’s presence becomes tangible or noticeable in a particular place or moment.
3. Personal, Felt Presence: This is the intimate experience of God’s presence in our lives.

The key to experiencing God’s presence more fully lies in a practice called “statio.” This Latin term, originating from monastic traditions, refers to the pause or space between moments. In these spaces, we can turn our minds back to God and become aware of His presence in our lives.

Statio is practiced in the small moments of our day: the space between getting out of bed and starting our morning routine, the pause between tasks at work, or the moment before we fall asleep. It’s about returning our thoughts to God, acknowledging His presence, and inviting Him into our current situation.

The beauty of this practice is that it can be adapted to any lifestyle. A busy parent can practice God’s presence while preparing meals or putting children to bed. A student can do so between classes. An office worker can turn each new task into an opportunity for divine connection.

As we cultivate this practice, we may find that our entire perspective on life begins to shift. Mundane tasks become opportunities for worship. Challenging situations become invitations to lean into God’s strength. Moments of joy become occasions for gratitude and praise.

As we learn to pause, to create space in our busy lives for awareness of God’s presence, we open ourselves to a deeper, richer spiritual life. We begin to see the world through God’s eyes, to hear His voice in the quietest moments, and to feel His love in the most unexpected places.