What would our lives, indeed, what would the world be like if we all had a deeply conscious awareness that we are at all times in the presence of God, that he walks with us, that he watches over us, that he always holds us uniquely, personally, and lovingly in mind? The reality is that this is true. He is never far from us. And his desire for us is that we seek him as eagerly and lovingly as he does us, with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength? This awareness can be ours if we truly desire to know Him and love Him. Such feelings are not unknown to us. For example, young people who have fallen in love for the first time, or longtime married couples, often gaze at one another, filled with a desire to be with one another forever. So it is with God’s love for us.
The Irish saint known as Patrick, expresses his deep realization of God’s presence in his life powerfully in his famous prayer called the “Breastplate,” “Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in every mouth who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me…” If this is true for everybody (and it is), how would it be possible to harm any other human being? How could one even contemplate speaking of another harshly, gossiping about them, or maligning them behind their back? How could we lie to them, or treat them with cruelty, rather than with awe, kindness, and compassion? But we do. We see such cruelties every day, and may even be guilty of them ourselves.
In Psalm 73, the psalmist seems to have finally come to this realization of God’s presence in his life and is filled with uncontainable joy. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he writes: “I was always in your presence; you were holding me by my right hand. You will guide me by your counsel, and so you will lead me to glory. What else have I in heaven but you? Apart from you, I want nothing on earth. My body and my heart faint for joy; God is my possession forever. To be near God is my happiness. I have made the Lord my refuge.”
The world, with all its many distractions, takes our awareness far away from this truth, and the results are often experienced in many troubling and uncomfortable ways, such as anxiety, fear, or, ironically, boredom. This is the opposite of what we see in the psalmist’s sudden and joyful insight. It is the opposite of the exaltation we hear in Patrick’s ecstatic prayer of praise to the One who is so close, so attentive, so intimate, at all times. Is this not what our hearts long for? Do we not want to experience this same depth of joy, even if only on occasion, amid the noise and chaos of the world? How can we come to this realization and joy in our own lives?
The surest, most effective way to find and recognize God’s real presence in our lives is to develop a regular, daily habit of prayer and reflection. True, we can not rid ourselves completely of the noise and the manifold distractions of the world, but we can make better choices about the use of our time and what we allow into our daily lives in the form of distractions. We can choose to turn off our devices. We can purposefully carve out some regular time in our day to draw ourselves apart in silence and solitude, to read and reflect on scripture, to simply be quiet with God in prayer. It is in that intentionally chosen silence and solitude that we can be alone with God, apart from all of the distractions. God is patient. He is always there waiting for us to come to him.
Admittedly, this practice is not easy. It takes real work to develop the habits of attentiveness in prayer. Our minds are easily distracted and will, in the beginning, often go off on tangents far away from what we intend. Part of the discipline of prayer is that when this happens, we consciously bring ourselves back into the present moment, as often as is necessary. It is an exercise of humility, of letting go and letting God in His Holy Spirit do the work. In the beginning, more often than not, we will feel empty, that nothing is happening. But to put it in a simple way, our job is just to sit and look at him as he looks at us. Words are not always necessary. His gaze is always openly and lovingly on us, though we may not know it until we quietly, humbly, and willingly turn our gaze on him. It is a habit to be developed. It is hard work, but when it becomes a habit, it can completely change our lives, and always for the better. That’s when we can start to experience the joy of God’s presence that the psalmist and Patrick express in their own exultant and ecstatic prayers. Thanks be to God.
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