![]() ![]() The Bible declares in James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” God’s manifest presence is most often connected to prayer and worship. How Do you Encounter God’s Manifest Presence? Sometimes that nudge in your spirit to turn the television off or put the book down and go pray is God trying to draw you into his presence so he can minister directly to you. Simply pay attention to what God is doing in your heart. Sometimes God will manifest his presence with quiet, inward tugs on your heart. You don’t run after experiences you seek to encounter God’s presence. Your clothes may not be dry after lying in the mud. I want to caution you: these dramatic occurrences don’t always happen when God manifests his presence. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” ( Acts 4:31)īecause of their praying, God manifested his presence, and something shifted, something changed, and something happened. “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. Their response to this situation was they prayed. In Acts 4, after Peter and John were threatened by the Sanhedrin and told not to preach in the name of Jesus anymore, they returned and reported what happened to the other believers. He did it in the Bible and continues to do it today. I hope you don’t think it is strange that God manifests his presence in his people’s lives. The clean shirt was simply a bonus God added. The biggest part was God’s work in all our hearts as he ministered to us and turned the rest of that trip into a special moment in our lives. God manifested his presence, and something happened. At that point, I thought, “this shirt will probably be a mess.” However, when I got up, the shirt was completely dry. ![]() As I was coming to the end of praying, I realized I was lying on the muddy ground wearing a white shirt. I was wearing a white shirt and lying face up, but I did not think about it because I was enjoying God’s presence. While praying and seeking God, I remember lying on the ground (still wet from the rain). ![]() There was something that happened as we continued to pray and worship that has kept me in awe even until this day. He enveloped us with his joy, peace, presence, and comfort. As God was manifesting his presence, he was shifting the conditions of our hearts, causing us to forget about our miserable conditions for the last two days. As we continued in worship, something changed in our hearts, and we became less focused on the conditions around us and more focused on worshipping God and drawing near to him. This was when the atmosphere shifted to God manifesting his presence. God’s presence became real, and we could feel him in our midst. At first, we talked, then we started singing and worshipping God. We were miserable.īy the second night’s end, the rain finally stopped, and we built a campfire and sat around it. Imagine sleeping in a tent when it is rainy, cold, and the ground is muddy. It continued to rain nonstop for two days. ![]() When we got there, we had one major problem that affected everyone. What I was experiencing was his manifest presence. I can tell you many occasions where I sensed the Lord’s presence when I walked into a church, during a service, or even during personal worship. It could be his power, holiness, or love, but regardless, you can know and sense God is here. In these moments, you sense and recognize God is near, and you are usually confronted with some aspect of God’s character. Even though God is present everywhere, his manifest presence is when you realize it. So, how does this differ from his manifest presence? I’m glad you asked. He is present everywhere, all the time, and he knows exactly what you are doing. That’s why nothing is ever hidden from God. No matter where you go, you can never escape God’s presence. This reality caused David to write these words in the Psalms: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” ( Psalm 139:7-8). Another way to think about it is God is everywhere at the same time. God’s omnipresence means he is present in all places at all times. omnipresence, they serve different purposes in a person’s life. When you put the two head-to-head, manifest present vs. For us, God’s presence exists in two realities: his manifest presence and his omnipresence. I know people get excited to sit with people who they think are gifted, talented, or great, but I can tell you there is nothing like the Lord’s presence. ![]()
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