30 days of 6-8 hours of contemplative silence/day led to 1 very overwhelming sense: God is present. It is nearly impossible to spend so much time with Someone and not experience His gracious and abundant presence–in the present! I had a lot of questions after those 30 days. But one thing I knew for sure–God is present. Right here. Right now.
And this, I’ve come to learn, is one of the fundamental goals of life with God. To become conscious of his presence in the present.
One of the challenges I’ve had to overcome is a challenge reflected often in Scripture. The tendency to think of God as there/then rather than here/now. The tendency to believe that God is only accessible to me (or I am only accessible to God) in some sacred place other than here or at some sacred time other than now. I can only do meaningful business with God (or he can only do meaningful business with me) when I am there and then, but not here and now.
We see this in the “den of robbers” accusation levied by Jeremiah at the temple-goers of his day. Practically, they lived a theology which stated that God did not see their sinful behavior away from the temple (there/then). God only saw their holy behavior at the temple (here/now). Thus, Jeremiah lamented, the temple had effectively become a safe den for robbers. (Jer. 7:11)
We also see this in the Greco-Roman worldview which Paul critiqued in Athens. The spiritual citizens of Athens behaved as if God lived and acted only in certain places. Thus Paul proclaimed that “God…does not live in temples made by human hands…he is actually not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:24-27).
God is present here/now. Not merely there/then.
James Martin writes: “In the Gospels, Jesus often meets people in the midst of their busy lives: Peter mending his nets by the seashore, Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth…If God meets you where you are, then where you are is a place to meet God. You don’t have to wait until your life settles down, or the kids move out of the house, or…you’ve overcome your sinful patterns…Because God is ready now. (The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, 85)
The Psalms declare this same reality:
- I have set the LORD always before me…(Ps 16:8)
- But for me it is good to be near God…(Ps 73:28)
- Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Ps 139:7)
- The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. (Ps 145:18)
Jesus paints a similar portrait: “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” (John 14:20)
God is present here/now. Not merely there/then.
And there are two primary ways of cultivating this awareness: The Jesus Prayer and Practicing the Presence of God.
The Jesus Prayer is an ancient breath prayer used to keep the mind and heart engaged with Christ throughout the day. A work called “The Way of the Pilgrim” illustrates the power of this prayer. “The Way of the Pilgrim” is a 19th century Russian peace which reflects on Paul’s call for us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). It tells the story of a pilgrim who seeks to learn how to practice unceasing prayer. He visits many holy men, but none are able to truly help him. Finally, he is instructed to say the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” He is urged to pray it 3,000 times/day. Then 6,000 times/day. Then 12,000 times/day. And finally, he is gifted with the ability to be in contact with Christ each second of the day.
The pilgrim writes, “”…I felt absolute peace in my soul. During sleep I often dreamed I was saying the Prayer. And during the day if I happened to meet anyone, they all were without exception were as dear to me as if they had been my nearest relations…My lonely hut seemed like a splendid palace…”
More recently, Frederica Mathewes-Green writes, “Practicing the Jesus Prayer helps you sharpen your ability to ‘tune in’ to his presence, just as you would practice scales to to hone your ability to identify musical pitch.” (The Jesus Prayer).
I have found that silently repeating the Jesus Prayer throughout the day helps me capture a sense of the here/now of God.
Practicing the Presence of God comes to us through two individuals. Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in 1611 in France. He entered the world in poverty. In 1666 Lawrence entered a religious community of Carmelites in Paris as a Lay Brother. There, he took the name Brother Lawrence and he worked mostly in the kitchen. He was still a member of this community when he died in 1691.
He was renowned for his ability to remain in touch with God throughout the day: “I made it my business to be in the Lord’s presence just as much throughout the day as I did when I came to my appointed time of prayer. I drove anything from my mind that was capable of interrupting my thought of God. I did this all the time, every hour, every minute, even in the height of my daily business.” He once famously wrote, “Forget him the very least you can.”
Frank Laubach was born in the United States in 1884. In the 1930’s, Laubach was a missionary among Muslims in the Philippines. He wrote over 50 books and was a well-known educator. He died in 1970. Like Lawrence, Laubach focused on staying in touch with God throughout each day. He wrote, “One question now to be put to the test is this: Can we have that contact with God all the time?..Or are there periods when business, and pleasures, and crowding companions must necessarily push God out of our thoughts?…Can I bring the Lord back in my mindflow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind?..” Laubach believed the answer to these questions was “Yes!”
And this calls Christians and our churches to move beyond a past/future faith. Many times our faith is characterized as only past/future. Worship is the celebration of what God has done in Christ or what God will do upon the return of Christ. Ministry is done out of gratitude for the past work of the cross or out of enthusiasm for the future work of cosmic renewal and resurrection. We’re either remembering the past or leaning into the future.
But what about the present? Worship should also include praise for what God is doing right here and right now. Ministry should also be conducted as a way of partnering with the current work of God in the world. Our God is not one who once visited us and will one day visit us again, leaving us to wish we’d lived at one of those great moments of visitation. Our God is one who visited and never left. He’s moved in. Settled down. The gathered church testifies to this presence and rejoices in it. The sent church relies on this presence and partners with it.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for a great post.
I have a question that might be hard to answer with words, but I would love to hear your reflections – how did you know God was present? In what ways did you experience God’s presence when you got quiet?
Put another way – This post gives helpful insight about methods that helped you experience the presence of God. But what did you experience when you got there?
John,
Great question! I was urged to pay attention to what Ignatius called Consolation and Desolation. Consolation is feelings of love, joy, peace, etc. Desolation is feelings that are just the opposite. While not always true, feelings of consolation align with a growing awareness of the presence of God. It’s not that God was nearer than at other times. But my awareness of his presence was stronger. I’d say it was a mixture of these emotions/feelings and an intellectual awareness of the presence of God.
Thanks, Chris. Helpful thoughts.
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