There are several ways to experience God’s presence. Prayer is one of those way things . Prayer establishes a two-way communication between us and God. We talk to Him and we learn to listen to Him as well. The art of praying is fundamental to having a good relationship with God. Our prayer time is heart-felt communication with God.

Jesus taught His disciples the pattern of prayer in Matthew chapter 6; this is the prayer us believers refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. This format of prayer explains that God is our father; and it helps us understand the depth of such a relationship. Therefore, the call to prayer is a call to be in the presence of our father who is in heaven but is also omnipresent. He is not limited by time, space or distance.

Since the bible already established that God is Spirit, we can only communicate with Him with our spirit. This means we can experience His presence mostly through our spirit and not in our head or senses. God’s presence is manifested through our faith. If we don’t have faith we cannot walk with or please God. Therefore, we should not be looking for signs as proof of His presence when we pray. God is Spirit and we can only contact Him with our spirit to experience His presence.  

His guidance is what guarantees His presence. To constantly be in God’s presence we need to understand His instructions according to His word. For example, the Bible affirms that He will always be wherever two or three are gathered in “His name”. He honors gatherings with His presence only because of His name and the heart of the people who seek Him (Matthews 18). 

The Bible discusses Moses, a prophet of God, who led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt to the land God promised them. Moses was a humble prophet who knew he needed the presence of God to help him lead over 2 million people all by himself. Moses therefore asked for God’s presence to go with him and the people of Israel as they embarked on their journey to Canaan land. And God assured Moses that His presence will go with them (Exodus 33). 

The number one principle of life is this: Do not go to where God is not present. If you do, you are on your own. 

Spending time in the word of God is another way of experiencing His presence. When our heart begins to understand the word through the help of the Holy Spirit, we begin to enjoy God’s presence. The bible also states that through meditation and following the guidance of God’s word we can make our life prosperous (Joshua 1:8). 

Praying and studying the Bible, as important as that is, will not give us automatic access to God’s presence. Until we learn to seek Him with all our heart, and not in our head, it may be impossible to experience Him. Seeking God in spirit and in truth is a prerequisite to finding Him (John 4). It will take our spirit to experience God’s presence. We absolutely cannot find Him with our head. We can receive the knowledge of His word in our head, but the revelation of His presence will only come through our heart.

Our heart is the same as our spirit, and it is from our hearts that we contact and understand God’s presence. Just as we clearly understand that it is our spirit that becomes a new creation after receiving salvation, an not our body or mind. Our spiritual growth is in our spirit, and with that, we mature in God and understand His presence. The manifestation of the Spirit is possible through our spirit. We contact God with our spirit.

Desiring God’s presence is an expression of our love for Him. It involves a deliberate effort on our part to find Him and enjoy His presence. There are several reasons we need to desire God’s presence, but the number one reason should be because of the love we have for Him. Not to even mention all the great benefits we get from being in His presence. Seeking Him is to our advantage, but we should not desire Him just because of the benefits. We should approach Him based on love. Anything that we do without love is a sin. That’s why the Bible mentioned in 1st Corinthians 13, that no matter what we have and how gifted we may be, if we don’t have love we are nothing. Even if we sacrifice our body to die for others, but it’s without love, it is all hypocrisy.  

What happens when we are in the presence of our loved ones? We share such a great intimacy with them and we get comfortable to talk and be ourselves. That is exactly what happens in the presence of God. Liberty is one of the things we enjoy in His presence. Imagine how we always want to be with those we care about and love dearly; we never want to leave their presence. This should be the same way we approach God. First by loving Him, and next by desiring to be in His presence.

We cannot underestimate what we are missing when we don’t seek God’s presence; especially since He wants us to seek Him. Whether we are praying or studying His word, His presence is where we start to experience a sense of relief and peacefulness in our hearts. And if we continue to seek Him, we come to the level of deep revelations and then move to the place of glory. It is at this level that the secrets things of God are made available to us.