The Grace of God's Presence

The Burning Bush         Credits: Grace for the Race

'You make known to me the paths of life;  in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.' Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)

Christian meditation is well described in a poem by Stephen Levine (1927-2016),  'Millennium Blessing' introduced to a group of meditators by Dr Noel Keating from Ireland. The poem opens with these phrases, 

'There is a grace approaching that does not come in time but in timelessness.... when the mind sinks into the heart and we remember' 

In Christian meditation we seek to become aware of the presence of God. This is like feeling a 'sense sublime' described by another poet William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) in the poem 'Tintern Abbey.' Wordsworth described this presence as

 'A sense sublime, of something far more deeply interfused, 

Whose dwelling is in the light of setting suns.

A motion and a spirit, that impels, 

All thinking things, all objects of all thought, 

And rolls through all things.

The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, 

The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul

Of all my moral being.' 

Steven Levine described three aspects, I think, occur during Christian meditation:

• God's Grace. This awareness, and with it the awakening in us, comes only by the God's grace and His favour. It cannot be conjured nor contrived through any technique and practice.

• Timelessness. We should become unaware of the passage of time. When we meditate, we should become oblivious to time and enter into the timelessness of God's presence. We are not trapped into a 20 or 30 minutes time bubble during meditation, waiting for it to end with the sounding of the bells. Instead we are comfortable with the sense that time is not ticking away and remain, as meditators would described it, in the present moment. 

• Communion. The mind becomes silent and sinks, almost unaware and gently, into the heart. That is when we commune with God from the heart not the mind, in prayer without words. This is when our spirits are released and interfused with the Holy Spirit. St Paul described this communion, as being filled with the Holy Spirit.

It is not every time when we meditate that we will be in God's presence. These happenings are few and far between for most of us. Many of us have, with discipline, meditated two or more times a day for many years without ever experiencing it. But when it comes, it is a gift.

This grace of God's presence is often described by theologians as the manifest presence of God. This is to be differentiated from God's omnipresence. When we say God is omnipresent we recognise that God is ever-present in the world, universe and in the whole of creation. He is always there and the Holy Spirit indwells believers at all times. But oftentimes we are unaware, even oblivious to His presence. God's manifest presence occurs when He chooses to allow us to experience Him during a specific personal and moment. 'God is everywhere' is different from 'God is here.'

The presence of God is a privilege and is described in the Bible as a sacred encounter

 

On Mount Horeb in the Sinai desert, Moses encountered the burning bush which though on fire did not burn up. God called to Moses from within the bush,

"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy ground." Exodus 3:5

This is holy ground

We're standing on holy ground

For the Lord is present

And where He is is holy

This is holy ground

We're standing on holy ground

For the Lord is present

And where He is is holy

We are standing on holy ground

And I know that there are angels all around

Let us praise Jesus now

We are standing in His presence

On holy Ground

Leaving Beersheba to Haran, Jacob stopped for the night and laid down to sleep, 

'He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord and He said: "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac."..."I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28: 12-13a and 15 

Jacob thought 'Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place' 

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place,
I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
I can hear the brush of angel's wings
I see glory on each face;
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.

Moses understood the urgent need for God's presence during the wanderings in the Sinai desert. In Exodus Chapter 33, the Lord God was so angry over the incidence of the Golden Calf worship and idolatry in the desert, that God told the Moses that He will keep His promise to lead the people into the promised land but God, himself will not be present with them. Moses argued, 

'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with Your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from other people on the face of the earth?' Exodus 33:15-16

This relationship between God's Promise and God's Presence was once again emphasised at the transition of leadership between Moses and Joshua.

"Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors He will give to them (His Promise). Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you (His Presence)." Deuteronomy 31:7-8

Therefore it is important for Christians to find a quiet time every day to seek God's specifically by prayer or by meditation, hoping to be in God's presence.

In the quiet of this hour
As we kneel before You now
I believe Your promise to be faithful
I don't always understand
What Your perfect will demands
But I learned to trust You more
In Your presence, Lord

In Your presence, there is comfort
In Your presence, there is peace
When we seek to know Your heart
We will find such blessed assurance
In Your holy presence, Lord

Lionel