Racing in and out of God’s presence

We tend to race in and out of God's presence.  As we do, we grab a little bit of God and go.  We do it rather quickly. We lead busy lives.  We want something quick from God to take home with us. Too often, it just is too little. 

Developing an atmosphere for healing our lives takes time.  It just takes time to let go of our earthly perspective and focus on Him.  It often involves waiting.  God's time is not our time.

As Psalm 27:14 tells us, "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

David said in Psalm 63:2, "I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory."

God doesn't seem interested in touching our lives on our time schedule.  David took time in worship.  He saw the power of God, and yearned for more.

God tells us that the atmosphere of His presence comes in a certain way.  Psalm 100:4 tells us that we enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. This is how we come into His presence.  God tells us that He actually inhabits the praises of His people.  Atmosphere changes as we enter His presence through worship.

In Psalm 68:24 God’s Word tells us:

"Your procession has come into view, O God, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary. In front are the singers, after them the musicians, with them are the maidens playing tambourines.”

The procession into the presence of God (the sanctuary) comes first with singers and then musicians.  They lead the assembly into the presence of God.  Although we may not use tambourines as readily, God appreciated percussion instruments in worship!  Today, many people use an expanded form of percussion, the drum ensemble.  From this verse we understand that coming into a sense of the presence of God is a procession; it is a process.

An illustration from the garden may be appropriate.  Maybe you have had the experience of being thirsty while working outside in your yard or garden.  If you turned to the outdoor garden hose to quench your thirst, you remember at first the water seems lukewarm.  It tastes a bit like plastic.  We often call it hose water!  As the water continues to flow, it suddenly turns cold and refreshing.  This seems to be our experience in worship.  We rush into His presence jostled and very earth-oriented.  Maybe worship seems stilted for us.  Our attention turns from the fact that our socks may be different colors or we just sat on our purse to the fact that God is present in the building.  Suddenly the river that makes glad the children of God is flowing in our lives.  A change in atmosphere can be sensed.  It is often described as the river of God.

The Apostle Paul affirmed changes in spiritual atmosphere when he told the Corinthian church to do certain things when the “power” of Jesus was present.  This verse, found in 1st Corinthians 5:4, directs us to understand that there is apparently a deeper atmosphere- when the power of Jesus is present and discerned.

God is always with us, but sometimes He lets us know it!  Keep your ears and eyes open for the power of God as atmosphere is developed.

How do we develop an atmosphere where Jesus is pleased to dwell and touch people’s lives?  How do we come before God in such a way that the power of Jesus is present to do mighty things?

I am afraid that too often we are concerned about our own programs.  We rush into worship more concerned about performance than presence.  The following principles can help us develop an atmosphere where His presence and healing can be evident.

Praise

The Holy Spirit delights to be where Jesus is given glory and praise.  This is what Jesus told his disciples in John 16:14. 

The Holy Spirit loves to give glory to Jesus, and where the name of Jesus is lifted high, He is sure to be present.  Praise directed to God deepens a sense of the Holy Spirit in the assembly. 

Praise lifts us from personal discouragement and despair and brings us into His glory.  God just loves to be where His children desire Him. 

In Psalm 46:4 we read, "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells."   This river is a nourishing stream that produces joy in the people of God.  It is a river from God. 

Faith and expectancy

Faith is often the crucial element in healing.  Jesus usually equated healing and faith.  In some cities, including his hometown, Jesus did not do many miracles because of disbelief.  Others, including Gentiles, received fantastic healings as they released their faith in Jesus’ Word. Without question, our faith level is never stagnant.  It is rising or falling as we chose to believe God’s Word, or the circumstances around our lives.  Biblical history shows us that God often sends adverse circumstances to test our faith.  Faith is a gift.  God gives faith to us. How much faith does it take to be healed?  Jesus said if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we can move a mountain.  Jesus told his disciples, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12-13

Clean and surrendered

There are times in which healing is postponed in our lives as the Lord seeks a deeper work in our heart.  Clean and surrendered hands allow the presence of God to draw close to us. Unconfessed sin sends ripples through our relationship with God.  He cannot draw close while we harbor sin in our hearts.  In Psalm 68:18 the Word states, "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened."  

The 24th Psalm states, "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what are false."   We know that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.  We also know that we confess our sins to Father, and He will forgive us.  Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command."

We all live in a world in which we need the blood of Christ every day.  In Leviticus 14 we read that the oil was applied after the blood.  The oil of the Spirit follows the blood of the Lamb in our lives.

Unity

One of the beautiful things about gathering together in prayer for healing is that we have the opportunity to join our faith with others.  Jesus touched solitary individuals, but He also touched people in the midst of gatherings.  Jesus desires to minister His covenant to people, and when they gather in faith He is present.  He said that as two or three gather in His name, He is present with them. 

 Psalm 133 tells us that there is an anointing upon believers that are in unity.  Maybe this is because it is so hard to attain!  God tells us that in unity there is precious oil that anoints His children.  It is as the dew of Hermon falling on Mount Zion.  When we are in disunity, the Spirit of God is quenched.  Broken relationships and critical thoughts bring a hindering of God’s work.  Remember, Jesus prayed that we would be one.  He was not kidding.

The glory is reserved for God alone

God says He will not share His glory with anyone. 

 In Isaiah 42:8 we read, “ I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. ”  In Isaiah 48:11 He states, "I will not yield my glory to another."  

God will not yield His glory to us.  When asking God to build an atmosphere to release ministry to His people, it is obviously crucial to give all glory where it belongs.  It belongs to God alone!  When attention is drawn away from God to people or to an organization, the glory is being redirected somewhere besides Him.  This can bring a quick end to healing ministry!

Hunger and Thirst

Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are blessed.  Matthew 5:6 tells us that they are blessed today, not some day off in the future.  The blessing of God is a comprehensive anointing on lives. 

He gives this blessing to those who seek the things of God. There are many things that grab our attention in life.  Some things take away our hunger and thirst for God.  God tells us that those who hunger and thirst will be filled!  What a wonderful concept; to be filled by God as we yearn for Him. James 4:8 says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." God draws near to us when we come close to Him.  In Proverbs 8:17 God says, "I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me."

Soaking Prayer

When we come to glory we may be shocked by all that we could have incorporated by prayer into our world.  When we pray, we acknowledge our dependency upon God.  Because God will not share His glory with anyone, including us, when we pray we are telling God He is the Healer.  When we fail to pray, we are in reality trusting our own efforts. 

 James 4:13-17 is a great section of God’s Word on the topic of healing.  James tells us that the one who is sick should call upon the Elders to anoint with oil in the name of Jesus.  He then tells us that the prayer of a righteous person avails much.  The illustration he gives is that of Elijah.  Elijah shut the heavens and opened them through prayer.  This is quite an illustration for us to use! We pray asking the Lord to open the heavens and pour out His healing touch upon a life.  In Acts 4:30 we have a model of effective prayer by an Apostle: "Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."