Praying in His Presence

By David Hobbs

People ask, “What can I do in order to pray for an hour? I run out of requests and things to thank Him for after the first 5 minutes; now what?” Other people want to know what I mean when I talk about intimacy with God.
Have you ever had a time where you felt especially close to God, like He was right there? Mike Harris had such an experience in Out of the Fire on that fire up in Idaho (The Big One, p. 355). All of us who are born again have had those special experiences, which I call “being in His Presence.” That concept, my friend, is the key to a satisfying, productive and vibrant prayer life—Praying in His Presence! (When Mike prayed in His Presence, the wind reversed and the fire stopped!)
Consider these Scriptures: 1) Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)—“In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 2) Exodus 33:14 (NIV)--God speaking to Moses when Moses asked who God would send with them to take them to the Promised Land. “The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest’” 3) Deut. 4:37 (NIV)—“[God] brought you [the nation of Israel] out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength.” 4) Psalm 21:6 (NIV)—“Surely you [God] have granted him [the king] eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.” 5) Psalm 51:11 (NIV)—“Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.”
Though in one sense God is everywhere all the time, yet the Bible still speaks of His Presence manifesting itself in particular places at particular times. It’s like God has cameras running everywhere all the time—He always knows what is happening everywhere and it’s all being recorded, but that doesn’t mean that God’s will is being done everywhere. We know from Scripture that Satan is the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11), and it’s Satan’s will, not God’s, being done throughout much of the earth (that’s why we’re to pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven). But when God’s Presence shows up, that’s like God showing up in person with all of His power and glory. When God’s Presence shows up, demons have to flee (Psalm 114:7 [NIV]—“Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord.”), and the wicked too (Psalm 5:5 [NIV]—“The arrogant cannot stand in your presence.”
And it’s God’s very Presence that we want to experience when we pray. Otherwise how can you be intimate with someone who is not there? The American church’s mentality in prayer is that God is watching and listening to us as we pray, but like with the recording camera. It’s all being recorded and played back for Him in heaven, but meanwhile we experience nothing on our end and have no idea how He is responding, whether we have His ear or not. Beloved, that’s not God’s perfect will for us. Sure there are times when we have to pray in faith, but the norm is to pray in His Presence.
“Sounds great,” you might say, “but how exactly do I do that? God rarely shows up in my life like that. If I had to wait for those times, I’d hardly ever pray!”
The answer is simple—when we pray, we are to pray-in the Presence of the Lord; we can cause His Presence to manifest, then when His presence is there, we can let the Holy Spirit lead us in our prayer time and do and say exactly what He wants. Then it’s not us praying, but Him praying through us—Christ in you the hope of glory! The whole secret of prayer is to first get into the Presence of the Lord, and then be led of the Spirit.
(Next, “How do I get into the Presence of the Lord?)