Practicing the Presence of God -- International House Of Praise Emanuel

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

Thursday, April 24, 09:58:23am PDT [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 17:47:25 05/26/03 Mon
Author: Ken Mathews
Subject: Practicing the Presence of God

A Modern Day Idea for Practicing the Presence of God

Walking in the presence of God always is akin to Paul telling us to pray without ceasing. Constant fellowshiping and communing with God from the heart is a heavenly joy that few will ever experience. My prayer is that this little piece will give you hope in the very real possibility that man can and should live every hour of his day walking in the presence of God. I am writing from experience in this daily practice. My practicing of the presence of God takes place not in some solitary location, separated from the world. Not at all! I live and work in the midst of a self-serving society just as you. I am surrounded by people who are living without the knowledge of a loving God. Dare anyone say that I am not living in reality, God is my witness that what I am about to share with you is true and the reality of how I live my life. If you seek to love God with all your heart, soul and mind then it is possible to make fellowshiping with God every hour as natural a habit as breathing.

The key to this most holy practice is rather easy and yet very hard to begin. It can not take place by force or even will power. It must begin in a quiet and peaceful manner. I will share with you how you can start your own journey towards a daily walk in the presence of God. To begin you must pick a time when you can be alone for several hours to start with. In the early evening is what I recommend. In the morning, sleep can prevail over you too easily and thus you will succumb to discouragement.

Find a quiet solitary place where you won�t be disturbed. Sit upright in a chair or on the floor with your back against the wall. You are going to still yourself. Quiet the whole body and mind. This is the most difficult part. Why? We are so use to busying ourselves with so many activities that it has become unnatural for us to still our body and mind. As you sit there inhale and exhale only through your nose, expanding your stomach not your chest. Breathing in this manner will soon relax your whole body. Spend ten to fifteen minutes doing this and soon you will feel quiet calm and relaxed.

When you reach this state of quiet and peace it is now time to meditate on God and God alone. There are so many things that we could mediate on concerning God. And yet there is only one aspect of God that will draw us closer to Him than any other- His Love. Just talk to God about His great love and the many aspects of it. There is no wrong or right way to meditate on God�s love. You want to just spend time with God savoring His divine love. When your body and mind are stilled, your spirit becomes free to commune with God�s spirit.

After awhile start to reflect on what Jesus said was the greatest commandment- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Ask God to give you a portion of His grace to love Him with all your Heart, soul and mind. This should be your prayer for a good length of time. Tell me, how different would your life be if you passionately loved God with all your heart, soul and mind. When we start to love God with this intensity, we can�t help but to commune with God hourly and thus we begin to practice the presence of God.

I humbly and lovingly extend my hand to you to help and encourage you any way I can. I pray that you email me with your experiences in practicing the presence of God.

May God Richly Bless You

Ken Mathews

PS Read my ongoing e-book on my website

http://www.geocities.com/myquest4god/index.html

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]