Seeking the Manifest Presence of God

A while back I wrote a blog dealing the the question: Does God "show up," or is He omnipresent. That blog entry dealt with some of what is meant by that phrase "God showing up." Is that just bad theology, or something we should pay attention to. In that blog I made the distinction between God's "general presence" and His "manifest presence." (The manifest presence means that God makes His presence known to us experientially.)

Today I'm going to be writing about what seeking the manifest presence of God is about, and the importance of seeking His presence as a core value.

Is the Manifest Presence of God Real?

The first question to ask about this notion of having a direct experience of God's presence is this question: is that a real experience or merely a psychological "wish projection." Some would suggest that having a direct experience of God is not possible for the ordinary believer today. Of course atheists would assert this, but some who call themselves Christians would too. Any claim of an experience of God is dismissed as merely self-deception; a reinterpretation of feelings of peace, calm, or whatever as actually just assigning the name of God to one's own inner emotional life.

How do you argue against that? What proof could anyone give to someone else, that a direct experience of God is not actually an experience of one's own inner sense of peace, or wonder? How could I convince you that it's not just some sort of self-hypnosis, or worse: the result of psychological manipulation by clever spiritual leaders?

I can't think of a way to prove, beyond any doubt, to a skeptic that an experience of God might be real, let alone that I had one. But then, I can't prove that I wasn't created 3 seconds ago with a 57 year long memory.

So let's ask a different question:

Is the Manifest Presence of God Taught in the Bible?

First, do we find evidence in the Bible when God's manifest presence was experienced by Biblical characters? The answer to that question is obviously "Yes!" From Adam and Eve hearing God walking in the Garden in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8), to Moses and the burning bush (Ex. 3:4-6), and in the tent of meeting (Ex. 33:7-11), to the priests not being able to enter the temple because of the glory of God (2Chron. 7:2-3), to Isaiah's vision of God that overwhelmed him (Isa.6:5), and more.

Second, do we find anywhere in the Bible where we are encouraged to seek God's manifest presence? Related to this is another question: Is the manifest presence something exceptional, for exceptional people in exceptional circumstances (as in the examples above), or something for ordinary people in everyday circumstances? To answer these questions we'll take a look at a few different passages.

In Psalm 105:4 we read this: "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always." To seek God's face, means to seek the presence of God. God's "face" is often used in the Old Testament as a metaphor for God's presence. This makes sense, doesn't it. I can see your face, when you are present. I might be able to see a picture of your face, or a video, or even a streaming video of your face. But seeing your face--seeing you face-to-face--is seeing you directly. Besides, God didn't allow images of Himself to be made; He wants us to seek Him, not a representation (a re-presentation) of Him.

In this Psalm, it's not the spiritual or political elite that are being called to seek God's face (presence). Everyone is called to do so! The same is true in Psalm 24:6, and Psalm 119:58, and assuming David is giving voice to the cry of every heart, also Psalm 27:8. And this is to say nothing of the myriad of passages that urge us to seek the Lord, especially this verse: But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deut. 4:29), echoed in slightly different form here: Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. (Isa. 55:6), and stated as a promise here: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jer. 29:13).

"Holy" Distractions in Seeking the Manifest Presence

I don't know about you, but I find myself spending more time and energy seeking information about God than in seeking Him directly. I suppose it's a product of growing up in a spiritual tradition that treasures the Bible so much. Even the study above, demonstrates how steeped in the Bible I was growing up, and continue to be today. I don't think that's bad--not at all!

At some point, the students of maps should get out of the library and see the places the maps describe. As a matter of fact, a person can only fully understand the maps, if that person has some experience of the places on them, or at the very least similar places.

The Bible teaches a lot about God, but it also teaches us to seek Him, and promises that if we seek Him we will find Him. This is not only true in the Old Testament (from where my examples above come from), but also in the New Testament. Paul prays for the Ephesians, who were already believers, and in the only epistle he wrote that didn't directly address specific problems in the church, that they would have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that [they] may know Him better (Eph.1:17). (By the way, that word for "know" here is a word that means to know personally, by experience, not just to know about, or know theoretically.)

If the Bible is like a map for our spiritual lives, then among other things, it tells us that God's manifest presence is a place we can go, and a place we should go. The Bible is more like a manual for spiritual life, than an encyclopedia of spiritual knowledge. It points beyond itself to something more--someone more: God Himself.

Another objection is found in this strange statement: "you're not seeking God, but just an experience of God" (as if that somehow disqualifies the quest as improper). But think about that statement for a minute. How could one find God, without having an experience of Him? What if I said, "you're not wanting a nice juicy steak, you're just wanting the experience of a nice juicy steak." Does that distinction even make sense? Of course not! In the same way we can't taste a steak and fail to experience the steak, we can't taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8), unless we have an experience of God. Or to be more direct, it is impossible to find something we can't experience (how then would we know if we found it or not?!).

Is it proper to seek an experience of God? Absolutely! The only ones who aren't seeking such an experience, are the ones who are satisfied to live as spiritual orphans. The Bible holds out more for us than a life of spiritual abandonment! God is not an absent Father!

Seeking the Manifest Presence of God

How do we do this? How do we seek God's presence? How do we 'look' for it--for Him?

The most obvious answer, of course, is that we seek and find God's presence in prayer. Not in the prayers of petition, obviously, but in waiting, or listening prayer. The concept of waiting on the Lord in prayer has been lost by many Christians. They don't know how to do it, or why one would want to. Maybe we don't wait, because we don't expect Him to come. I'm not going to wait for a bus in front of my house, since there's no bus route here. Nor would I wait for God, if I believed He's not coming my way.

Another way we seek and find God's presence is in worship. Worship is a kind of prayer, of course, but it's a specialized sort of prayer. It's the kind of prayer that lingers in the adoration and praise part of praying. As we acclaim God's goodness, love, power, majesty, glory, etc., He responds and often meets us in those moments, sharing with us from Who He is. We worship in words, in song, through many of the Psalms, in artistic expression or in silent awe. In whatever way we worship, we find that He comes to meet us in our worship of Him. Isn't that amazing?!

Just as important is that we seek Him in the context of the believing community. It is often in the context of corporate worship, or corporate prayer that I have felt the manifest presence of God most strongly. There's something about God's people gathered together to focus on Him that so often changes the atmosphere for everyone in the room. I think maybe God just likes it when His kids all get together.

By experience I know that usually when I miss the manifest presence of God, it's because I wasn't looking for it. We don't usually find what we're not looking for. This is not to say that every time we seek His presence we find it as soon as we begin. That's not true either. God likes to be sought, and He draws the best out of us when our seeking requires our whole heart (not just a bit of time and attention).

Worship leaders need to find ways to become aware of God's manifest presence among His people. Worship leaders are often caught up in the logistics of the meeting (what is supposed to be happening now, or next?), and can miss the evidence of the purpose of all their planning: God's presence among His people. That's not the time to change the subject or go on with the meeting! That's the time to linger, to notice out loud so others can tune in as well, and ask for an increase! I'll freely admit that this is something I need to grow in, but it is something am growing in.

When we seek Him, we will find Him. He is within reach, not far from any one of us (Acts 17:24).