‘P’ is for Practicing His Presence, Part 1
The King of Swing, Benny Goodman, was my hero when I was in 6th grade. I began in-school clarinet lessons because I wanted to make music like him. The lessons were once per week and I rarely practiced. In 7th grade the music teacher graciously accepted me into the band and I still rarely practiced figuring I would learn how to play by merely showing up for class. I eventually dropped band and the clarinet out of sheer embarrassment – I liked music but I was hopelessly untrained, unpracticed and unmotivated to do what needed to be done.
Practice is important. We learn to walk by practicing. We learn to read and swim and drive and make conversation by practicing. Many things in our lives which are useful, worthwhile and meaningful require practice. Practice does not necessarily make perfect but practice does make progress.
In Christianity our spiritual health and wellness depend on the life-giving nourishment supplied by God – we call it ‘grace’ because we neither deserve it nor earn it. God is always with us (believers) and always offering grace. We simply need to be aware of His presence, open our hearts and receive His gift. But guess what? We need to practice being aware, practice opening our hearts and practice receiving what He has to give. Practice makes progress.
Of course we have spiritual practices. These practices are also known as spiritual disciplines and please understand the word ‘discipline’ in this context means… practice or exercise. Think of spiritual practices as tools we use to 1) be aware of His presence, 2) open our hearts, 3) relate personally to God, 4) receive His love and nourishing grace. We learn how to love Him and others through practice and experience. Thus we make progress with God, becoming more intimate with Him, growing in His grace, progressing in wisdom and knowledge and understanding of who He is and how He wants us to partner with Him in building His kingdom.
There are personal spiritual practices and corporate ones too. Spiritual practices rightly engaged in are neither restrictive nor binding – they are ways to relate to God. None of these are for striving or trying to earn God’s favor. Spiritual practices are for freedom in Christ. They are basic components of the rhythm of intimacy with God which feed and nourish our soul/spirit, keeping us open and available for relationship and service – for making good music with our Savior. And practicing God’s presence is, perhaps, the most vital of all spiritual exercises.
I first learned of practicing His presence from a fellow believer who spoke of reading a classic Christian book about Brother Lawrence’s discovery and explanation of this simple but profound way of relating to God. Originally I read an older version of the book and struggled with archaic and unusual language. Yet one phrase captured my attention – having a “continuing conversation” with God. My heart seemed to know what to do with this challenging exhortation; I was to converse with God, mostly silently under my breath and especially listen to Him in all my waking hours. I pieced together the truths that God is omnipresent (Jer. 23:24) and “will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5, Josh. 1:5) along with Paul’s encouragement to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Guessing I had the theory down, I began to move into the practice – easier said than done due to the constant distractions arising from my dullness, my self-centeredness, my disordered desires and the world’s intrusive insistence that I function without God consciousness.
Further help arrived when I read Gregory Boyd’s Present Perfect. Boyd’s instruction to “remember God’s presence each moment,” to “surrender to God’s presence every moment,” and to “transform every moment… into an act of prayer and worship” further stimulated my desire for this profound relational way with God. But it was the following encouragement which significantly fed my imagination and sharpened my capacity to practice God’s presence:
“…remind yourself that you are submerged in God’s love (p. 19). Living in love moment-by-moment is not only the most important thing followers of Jesus are called to do; it encompasses everything followers of Jesus are called to do (p. 111).”
Gregory Boyd, Present Perfect, Zondervan Publ., 2010
“Submerged in God’s love” and “living in love” seems to be the key for me. In other words as I live in God’s love much like a fish lives in water, my heart and mind are enveloped with an awareness that God is present and Christ is living His life through me. This awareness enables me to receive from Him and respond to Him as we partner together to build His kingdom within and without.
It has taken time and effort and practice. There have been and continue to be failures, fumblings and forgettings. My consistency at practicing His presence is marked with peaks and valleys, plateaus and troughs. But I find there is no better or easier way to practice God’s presence – remembering and surrendering – than to focus on His love. God is love and I am the beloved. Many mornings before I arise I silently proclaim, much like John the Gospel writer, I am “the disciple whom Jesus loves” (John 13:23). During the day I frequently repeat a breath prayer confessing the truth, “Abba Father, I live in Your love.” When I pull on a favorite old sweater or warm coat I mimic Julian of Norwich who discovered, “He [God] is our clothing, who wraps and enfolds us for love, embraces us and shelters us, surrounds us for love” (Showings, as quoted by Jeff Imbach in The Recovery of Love, Fresh Wind Press, 2005). Saturating my heart with God’s love awakens my awareness of God’s presence.
“Living in love” is, of course, Apostle Paul’s language. Boyd refers to Paul’s words, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1-2, NRSV). As I trace the flow of these words an important sequence of events seems evident: first I live in God’s love and then it is possible for me to love more like Jesus loves. I accept this sequence as a daily necessity. My dependence on God is a dependence on His love and my practice of His presence is empowered by His love.
I’ve found poetry-prayer to be helpful to move this relational strategy – living in love and practicing His presence – deeper into my being.
Touch Me
Ted Loder, in Guerrrillas of Grace
Come, Lord Jesus,
startle me
with you presence, life-sustaining as air,
to open my heart
to praise you,
to open my mind
to attend you,
to open my spirit
to worship you,
to open me
to live my life
as authentically and boldly
as you lived yours.
Come, Lord Jesus,
be with me
in my longing;
come, stay with me
in my needing;
come, go with me
in my doing;
come, struggle with me
in my searching;
come, rejoice with me
in my loving.
In practicing His presence, experiencing His nearness, knowing His warmth, I am moving deeper from a Master-servant to a Friend-friend relationship with Jesus. He remains my Master but mysteriously He emphasizes being Friend. The pure, holy goodness of Jesus’ Friendship is beautiful music of His making, life-giving to my soul. He is present with me in my longing, my needing, my doing, my searching, my loving. Wonderfully, Jesus’ presence often brings our “continuing conversation” to silence and we simply enjoy being together. In our being together my soul is becoming restored and I am enabled for doing.
Soul Restoration 