Written by Tom Schwanta, a contemporary professor of Christian formation and author.
God is in our midst, and we are often unaware of His presence. Scripture reveals God’s deep desire to be in fellowship with us and the hunger of the human soul for a relationship with Him. God always takes the initiative by His grace and seeks to draw us back into a personal friendship. Central to this relationship is understanding the dynamics of knowing God. Since God has already revealed Himself to us, we need to be alert to recognize that God is indeed present and active in our world today…[In] the words of C.S. Lewis: “We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always hard to penetrate. The real labor is to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to remain awake.” Lewis captures the reality of the human ability to stifle God. Periodic awareness of God is not God’s design. Instead, our triune God desires for us to cultivate a practice that is the habitual pattern of our lives. Closely connected to this is a realistic understanding of what it means to experience God’s presence. We should not expect or seek only the spectacular encounters with God. That minimizes the normal way in which Christians have experienced God over the centuries. Like Elijah, we need to realize that God’s presence is typically not in the mountain-shattering wind or in the convulsions of the earthquake or in the consuming fires, but rather in God’s gentle “quiet whisper.”
Prayer:
Written by Debbie McDaniel, a contemporary Christian writer.
Dear God, forgive us for drifting away from you, for allowing other things to become more important in our lives. Help us to live aware, to choose wisely, to stay close to you, and anchored in your Truth. Apart from you, we have no hope. Thank you for your great love and mercy, thank you that you wait for us, that you call us to yourself, and you strengthen us in our weakness. Thank you that you alone are our Refuge and Safety, and you fill us with hope. We come to you today, choosing to walk in your Presence and Light. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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