How to Practice The Indwelling Presence of God

I imagine that just about everyone who begins reading this will be quite familiar with the phrase “the presence of God.”

Different ones may explain its meaning in different ways. In the charismatic/Pentecostal circles where I move these days, we regularly hear about “the presence of God” from the pulpit.

It most frequently comes when, for whatever reason, the audience enjoys an uplifting emotional experience. The pastor may say words to the effect, “Did you feel that? The presence of God is here!” We all agree and we take it as a stamp of God’s approval on what we are doing. This is just a guess, but I imagine we see this in around 75 percent of our meetings.

I bring this up simply to say that this is not what I mean by the secret, or guideline, “Live in the presence of God.” I’m not talking about experiencing the presence of God once a week in church services—I mean 24/7. I realize that this can cause confusion. As I think back, I can hardly remember a whole sermon analyzing what is meant biblically as “the presence of God.” So I felt it might be helpful to express some thoughts I have on the matter…

The Big Picture

First of all, let’s try to see the big picture. As I have studied this, discussed it with others, and experienced the presence of God personally, I have concluded that we are dealing with three discernable levels of the presence of God:(1)

1. Omnipresence: God is everywhere.

2. Indwelling presence: God dwells in believers.

3. Manifest presence: God, from time to time, makes His presence unusually evident to our eyes or our ears or our spirits.

Let’s take a brief look at #1 and #3 just to complete the big picture.

1. Omnipresence

Classic theology teaches that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Look at that prefect “omni” in each one. This comes from the Latin meaning “all.” So God is “all knowing” and “all powerful” and “all present.” God is present everywhere and at all times. This involves the whole universe, which, of course, He created. God is just as much present on Mars as He is in Memphis. In fact, what do you think would be about the last place where most people would expect to find God? Probably it would be in hell. But look what Psalm 139:8 says: “If I ascend into heaven, You are there.” Yes, everyone would expect that God would be in Heaven, but here is the surprise in the second part of the verse: “If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”

The theological omnipresence of God is true, but it is really rather abstract. For most people it is a vague concept. In fact, a lot of people think that God lives in some distant place and that He is not around here with us. These are good subjects for tea-time conversations.

2. God’s Manifest Presence

God’s manifest presence means that God chooses to display His glory from time to time in an obvious, notable way. It is not vague like omnipresence—it is tangible, frequently to more than one person at the same time. When preachers, especially charismatics and Pentecostals, declare, “The presence of God is here!” they mean the manifest presence. They frequently interpret it as a badge of success. For example:

• “The presence of God came with signs and wonders!” It was a successful meeting.

• “Our prayer meeting was small, but the powerful presence of God was there with us!” It was a successful meeting.

• During the sermon: “Do you feel the presence of God?” It was a successful sermon.

Without questioning the validity of statements such as those because the manifest presence of God is very important, let’s analyze them a bit. “Do you feel the presence of God?” implies that a few minutes previously God was not present. Or even when the sermon first began, God was not yet present. Or when you were still home before you came to the church gathering you were not in the presence of God. It could also be implying that during the week you probably will not feel the presence of God, so come to church next Sunday and you will feel it again.

Now, where does this coming and going of the manifest presence of God come from? It is a carryover from the Old Testament. Before Jesus came and the Holy Spirit descended, the presence of God was located in the ark of Moses or in the tabernacle or in the temple. One of the best illustrations of this occurs in the house of Obed-Edom. David was moving the ark into Jerusalem when his journey became interrupted. “So David would not move the ark with him into the City of David, but took it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite” (1 Chronicles 13:13). It is interesting that the ark, where the manifest presence of God abided in those days, would be entrusted to a Gentile.

And what happened? “The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had” (1 Chronicles 1:14). If you read the context you will find that Obed-Edom made a fortune in those three months of having the presence of God in his house. Who wouldn’t want that? That’s why we often pray for the manifest presence of God in our family gatherings and in our church services.

As I was writing about this, I couldn’t help but think about the song that I have sung many times: “Surely the Presence of the Lord Is in This Place.” When you think about it, the presence of God surely is with us who are in this particular place, almost always implying a church building. But it is not necessarily found in other places. It goes on to say, “I can feel His mighty power and His grace.” The manifest power is often tangible, not just spiritual. “I can hear the brush of angel wings!” Hearing is one of our five senses, so when this happens there is no question about the presence of God.

There is so much about God’s manifest presence (#3) and God’s omnipresence (#1). Whole books can be written about each of them. I included them here just to get the big picture, but this chapter is not about either one. This chapter is about God’s indwelling presence (#2).

3. God’s Indwelling Presence

God is omnipresent and we worship Him for it. God visits us with His manifold presence and we enjoy it. But we live, day in and day out, in His indwelling presence. This provides us strength and nurture in our Christian walk. It is my strategic guideline. The indwelling presence of God will be there, but it is our responsibility to make sure we are living in it.

Why do we call this “indwelling?” Because it is inside us. We’re not just vaguely aware of it. We don’t seek it out in a certain place. It is actually part of who we are, like our muscles or our brain.

When Does the Presence Come?

Not everyone enjoys the indwelling presence of God. It is given only to those who are born again and who have become part of God’s family. Every human being is born once, but that alone does not impart the indwelling presence. It only comes if and when you establish a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, in other words being born twice. I imagine that all of my readers would be born again; but just in case you happen to be one who is not or even one who has doubts, waste no time in seeking out someone who can help you pray what we call the sinner’s prayer.

A Quick Test

Why not take a quick test? Which one of the following two statements would generally characterize your life?

• I expect God to walk with me on my own paths and to come around whenever I call Him.

• I want to walk with God on the paths He has chosen.

There is a big difference between the two. If you chose the first one, it implies that you are using God. That is not so good. It won’t work for a fruitful life. If you chose the second, it implies that you want God to use you. That is what I have in mind for this secret, or guideline: Live in the Presence of God.

Let me show you two Scriptures that help us see how deep the indwelling presence of God can go in our lives:

God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

The apostle Paul says,

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

When you think of this it is quite amazing. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, is actually in us. We are mere humans, but God indwells us. It is one of the greatest privileges imaginable. And Paul has taken it to a place that all of us ought to strive for—he has allowed Christ to live his life for him. Did Paul have a fruitful life? He certainly did, and this is one of the reasons for it.

I would probably agree, reluctantly, that few of us will duplicate Paul’s accomplishment. I don’t think I have been among those who have. However, with the exception of a few times that I have fallen short, I have never forgotten about the indwelling presence of God in my life, and this has helped me sustain whatever I might have attained as a fruitful life. That’s why I list the presence of God as the first secret.

Notice that I wrote, “I have never forgotten.” This does not reflect God’s initiative, it reflects mine. God’s initiative is to endow us with His indwelling presence, but it is our initiative to live it. That’s why I call this secret, or guideline, Live in the Presence of God. Can we forget that God is present? Yes, I’ve already admitted that I have fallen short from time to time. We can forget God’s presence, we can deny God’s presence, we can neglect God’s presence, we can even violate God’s presence. But if we do so, we suffer the consequences and we can’t blame God for them. We can only blame ourselves. Why be so stupid?

Let’s say everyone agrees that we should live in the presence of God. I hope this is the case by now. All you have to do as a starter is to think about praying. When can we pray? Anytime. We believe that God is here and that He listens whenever we speak to Him. Where can we pray? Anyplace we happen to be. We don’t have to go to a special place like a temple to pray. We can pray with a loud voice or with no voice attached at all. This could only be true if God were with us all the time. He doesn’t come and go. He indwells.

There are many other advantages if you agree with the indwelling presence of God. I would like to move on by pointing out three benefits that have been especially meaningful to me.

1. The Joy of the Lord

The Christian life is not so bad. In fact it is much better than any other kind of life you could mention. It is characterized by the joy of the Lord. If you are a believer, no matter where you happen to be in your personal life, you have underlying joy. For a starter, you know that you are saved. You are no longer in doubt about Heaven or hell. When you are sure that your final destiny is Heaven, it is a cause for great joy.

Look at what the Bible says, “You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy…” (Psalm 16:11). According to this, joy is directly tied to the presence of God. If the indwelling presence is there continually, so is the joy of the Lord.

The Christian life is not off and on. If you are a true believer, it is always on. But we all must admit that the Christian life does have its ups and its downs. I like to think of them as triumphs and trials. I have gone through many trials over the years. They were really difficult, especially some of the more arduous ones. However, in each one there was a way through. There was light at the end of the tunnel. I never forgot that God was with me and the presence of the Lord brought underlying joy. So much that I have forgotten most of the trials.

A while ago a friend of mine was compiling a book and he asked me to write a chapter. I was supposed to describe the worst period of my life and then tell how I came out of it. I was interested because several dignitaries were mentioned who had already agreed to write their chapter. However, I could not remember a single period of life when I have been down. My trials could take maybe a page, but not a chapter. This brings to mind James 1:2: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” I had to ask my friend to excuse me from contributing to his book.

But I must say that my triumphs in life have greatly outnumbered my trials. The Bible doesn’t have to tell us to rejoice in our triumphs because that is automatic. Triumphs bring joy and I rejoice! I can do that because I always acknowledge the presence of God. If God is present, you can enjoy your successes, and you can thank Him for them. You can tell others about them, privately and publicly. Some of my friends hesitate to do this because they feel it would be a violation of their humility. But this is not true.

I studied this and worried about it for quite a while before I wrote my book Humility. In it I quoted John Stott as saying, “Humility is not pretending to be other than we are, but acknowledging the truth about what we are.” And then I go on to say, “We need to get rid of the notion that as soon as we recognize that we have certain strengths, we have somehow fallen into pride.”(2) Denying or masking triumphs is, in fact a form of false humility because it disrespects God who gave you the gift you are using. No, rejoice in your triumphs! If you’re practicing the presence of God, you will!

2. Practical Holiness

When living in the presence of God, holiness becomes second nature. It becomes almost just as much of what we do as breathing. Most of the time you breathe without thinking about it. In the presence of God holiness is just like that. You live a holy life without even trying.

Let me give you an example. I would suppose that most of us, when we were young, did some things when our mother wasn’t around that we would never do when she was with us. I am referring to naughty things. We thought we could get away with it, and a good bit of the time we did. We became quite skillful at doing some things we weren’t supposed to do.

Now, God is not like your mother in this respect. She would be present some of the time and absent at other times. Not God. He is present with us all of the time. He doesn’t leave any wiggle room. We cannot do anything behind His back. I know that in the past I have done this or that hoping that God wouldn’t notice. But I soon found that I was not getting away with it. I was displeasing God, and He knew all about it.

Let’s pause and try to get the big picture regarding biblical holiness. The English word “holy” is a translation of the Greek hagios, which means to be set apart. Set apart from what? The answer to that question comes in two parts: positional holiness and practicing holiness. I’ll explain them one at a time.

Positional Holiness

Positional holiness refers to our status as a true child of God. When we are born again, we become new creatures in Christ. The Bible says that old things are passed away and everything becomes new (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). So we are set apart from what we used to be, which in some cases was pretty bad. Our position in Christ sets us apart, in other words it makes us holy. You do not work on positional holiness if you are truly born again. It comes with the package, so to speak. God gives you the new birth and God gives you positional holiness at the same time. That is why Peter writes, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). All of God’s people are holy because they are set apart from what the Bible calls “darkness.”

Practicing Holiness

The reason I call this practicing holiness is because “practicing” implies that, unlike positional holiness, we have to work on it. It does not come automatically. Peter, whom I just quoted, also writes this to believers (who all have positional holiness), “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15). The words “be holy” mean that it is up to us. It is our choice. And the Bible says that our holiness is displayed by our conduct. This is a very simple statement, but I know some believers who try to get around it by insisting that positional holiness is all we need. No, our behavior counts.

Some of our behavior pleases God, and some displeases God. I’m not talking about getting into some form of legalism in defining the difference. All believers have the written Word of God as well as the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We cannot do anything behind His back like many of us did with our mother.

Let’s take a current example that the Bible doesn’t mention specifically, but just about all of us agree that it displeases God, namely Internet pornography. I don’t want to quote the percentages of Christian men and of even pastors who watch porn because they are too shocking. Most of them must be thinking that somehow God tends to overlook that behavior. If so, they are not living in the presence of God. Yes, God is always present, but we need to live accordingly: “Be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15).

If we choose to live in the presence of God, I repeat, holiness becomes second nature. Internet porn and tons of other things that displease God do not enter the picture. Holiness is not a chore, it is a lifestyle! When that happens, you are “set apart” for sure.

3. You Expect Prosperity

Prosperity characterizes a fruitful life, and it comes by living in the presence of God. That’s why John could write to his friend Gaius, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2).

The first thing to remember is that God wants you to be prosperous. I am appalled at Bible believers who react against this statement, which many do. Perhaps they should pay more attention to 2 Corinthians 9:8 (Good News Translation): “God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause.” We see two things here: (1) God wants us to meet our personal and family necessities; plus (2) have enough to give to others.

I am not saying that if you are a Christian you will be rich—reality disproves that. Just like, as some contend, if you are a Christian you will not be sick—reality disproves that as well. These good things will eventually come to pass, but obviously not yet. Satan, who is the god of this age, still has too much power because God’s Kingdom has not fully come here on earth.

Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In Heaven there is no poverty and there is no sickness. This is God’s will for earth as well as in Heaven. Still there are believers who are poor and believers who are sick. Let’s be realistic about our understanding of satan. God created Adam to take authority and govern His creation. But satan succeeded in usurping that authority and taking charge of the world. This is why Jesus Himself called satan “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). But Jesus also came as the “last Adam” in order to destroy the works of satan. He paid the price to defeat the devil on the cross. He brought the Kingdom of God. He came to reconcile the world once more to God, but He gave us the ministry of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:18).

Think of what that means. Jesus paid the price for reconciliation on the cross, but He is not in the business of doing the reconciliation. That is up to us, and for the most part we have been making progress over the last two thousand years. Jesus is waiting for us to finish. Look at what the Bible says, “[Jesus Christ] whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things…” (Acts 3:21). Right now Jesus is in Heaven at the right hand of the Father. How long will He be there? Until all things have been restored. Meanwhile, even though it’s not God’s will, we are going to have to put up with worldliness like poverty and sickness.

Four Kinds of Prosperity

Back to prosperity. Few will dispute the fact that Jesus wants the best for you in every aspect of life. Constantly living in God’s indwelling presence is an important step in making this happen and bringing prosperity. I believe that God wants you to enjoy personal prosperity, social prosperity, physical prosperity, and financial prosperity. What do I mean?

1. Personal prosperity.

God wants you to feel good about yourself. When you look in the mirror, you are looking at someone beautiful. You are beautiful because you are made in the image of God. Part of God’s design is that you are not supposed to look like anyone else. Others may be beautiful in their way, but only you are beautiful in your way. You love life. When you get up in the morning you have a wonderful day to look forward to. You are not worrisome or distressed. Joy and holiness, as I just explained them, are deeply ingrained. You love God because you are living in the presence of God, and that brings personal prosperity.

2. Social prosperity.

You love your friends. You have several circles of relationships, starting with those very close to you, your family, and moving out from there. Most of them are probably believers, but some might be unbelievers. I expect that most people reading this book will be church members and a strong circle of friends will be found there in the congregation. But there will be others whose strong circle of friends is in the workplace and a large part of them might be unbelievers. No matter what, you are satisfied and happy to be with friends whoever they are. The presence of God allows you to move into social prosperity.

3. Physical prosperity.

It may sound strange to bring up your physical well-being as part of prosperity. But when you think of it, it makes sense. You can’t accomplish your other goals in life without having the physical strength and energy to do them. As I mentioned a couple of times before, God wants you healthy. Sure, satan is successful in invading your life with sickness and physical disabilities, sometimes for a brief period and sometimes for longer periods. But even when you are down, you need to remember the up days when you could do physically what you needed to do. I can use myself as an example of this. Right now, as I type this, I am 85 years old and very weak and fatigued, recovering from open heart surgery. But not only do I have faith that I will get my strength back some day, I also rejoice in the many years of excellent health that I have had throughout my career. I couldn’t ask for more, and I attribute it to living in the presence of God.

4. Financial prosperity.

I saved financial prosperity for last because when just about anyone brings up the word “prosperity,” they are thinking financially. When you tell me that so-and-so is prosperous, you usually mean that they are rich. The Bible even says this, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). God wants His people, including you and me, rich. True, satan still gets in the way of this all too frequently, but the Kingdom of God is pressing him down and reducing his authority. I know some people who get upset with these ideas. They complain that it’s the “prosperity gospel.” But that’s exactly what it is! The word “gospel” means “good news.” How can anyone oppose the idea that prosperity is good news? It certainly is to most of us!

As I have studied this through many years, it has become clear to me that satan’s chief tool in producing these negative reactions is the demonic spirit of poverty. This is a very powerful spirit that has invaded the church in general since around the third century. I have written a lot about it in some of my other books, so I won’t elaborate much here. Just let me say that the most effective tactic that the spirit of poverty uses in the church is to get Christians, starting with Christian leaders, to believe that “poverty is piety.” In other words, being poor helps you get close to God. Those who remain under the influence of this principality cannot stand the idea that God wants His people rich. Financial prosperity, in their opinion, pulls people away from God.

I need to say that I lived under the power of the spirit of poverty until I was around 50 years of age. It took three separate incidences to break it off, but I am happy to say that it no longer oppresses me. I believe that living in the presence of God was what enabled me finally to be delivered. Enough was enough! I am now financially prosperous, and I am enjoying it. I like to identify with apostle Paul who said, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound” (Philippians 4:12). This is not in the Bible, but I’ll bet he wanted to go on to say, “And I prefer to abound!”

Conclusion

The first secret is to live in the indwelling presence of God. I continue to think that it is amazing that God is actually in us. When we pray, when we speak to Him, He is always there. He is never gone on a lunch break. Furthermore, living in the presence of God opens the way for joy, holiness, and prosperity. Following this guideline is a good start toward a fruitful life.

Notes

1. Robert Heidler in The Messianic Church Arising (Denton, TX: Glory of Zion International Ministries, 2006), 131-132. This book lists these three levels of God’s presence and he adds a fourth: “God’s Dwelling Presence,” meaning that the manifest presence dwells in a certain place for an extended period of time.

2. C. Peter Wagner, Humility (Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 2002), 86.