To many people today, God is a myth, much like the Greek gods and goddesses, and the Bible, simply a collection of stories from Hebrew mythology. And to many of those who still believe that God exists, He has become an absent God. He is a God of concepts, the source of moral lessons on how to live our lives. Even many Christians who claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus, treat God much as the Deists did, as a clockmaker, who, having created the masterful clock, now sits back and lets it run. They don’t view him as Someone actively involved in the daily lives of each of us. They attend church with some regularity, especially if it does not interfere with their vacation plans or if they are not too tired from the week’s activities. They sing hymns and pray. But their relationship to God is that of a nodding acquaintance. They have no sense of His majesty, His glory. His power. They are not in awe of Him. They cannot love Him, because they do not know Him. They only know OF Him. They need to Find God.
And yet, God is everywhere. David ponders in Psalm 139 the impossibility of escaping from the constant presence of God when he writes:
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
So how is it that many of us who call ourselves Christians still haven’t really connected with God? How is it that we have no sense of His greatness, His majesty, His sovereignty? How is it that we are not in awe of Him? It is actually fairly simple: We don’t spend time with Him.
We come to church on Sunday mornings (skip Sunday School – it’s too hard to get up that early!). We go home. We may remember to pray before meals (at home. Don’t want to look radical in public!) We call in with a serious request for the prayer chain if needed, otherwise, we have no contact with God until the next Sunday morning.
And we will be shocked when at the Judgement Seat of Christ, Jesus says “I never knew you: depart from me.”
How do we become aware of God’s presence? How do we find God? In Jeremiah 29:13, God tells us “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Here are ways to search with your whole heart:
- Pray a prayer of contrition:
Ask God to reveal any sin in your life that you need to repent of and then ask for His forgiveness. Unforgiven sin separates us from God as it separated King David from God. Like David, we must daily ask God to cleanse us of all wrong doings so that we can draw closer to Him. Often, we sin by failing to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in speaking to someone, or giving to someone, or even sending a card to someone. And our excuses may seem valid, but as James writes “ Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”(James 4:17)
- Meditate on God’s word:
Don’t just read the scriptures, really think about them. Use your computer to go to Bible Hub commentaries or other Bible commentaries to find out how biblical scholars interpret what you have read. Read the notes included in your study Bible. Follow up by reading other verses that are mentioned in the margins of your Bible the passage and if it really puzzles you, ask someone whose Biblical knowledge you trust to discuss it with you. Meditate and ponder on the scriptures and the Holy Spirit will open them up to you and they will become your joy! .” The prophet Jeremiah testified, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts” (Jer. 15:16).
- Sing songs of Praise to God
There is a praise chorus by Petra whose words go like this:
“I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
to worship you,
Oh, my soul rejoice,
Take joy, my king, in what you hear,
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.”
You don’t need a beautiful singing voice to sing praises to God. I firmly believe that heartfelt songs of praise becomes glorious melodies in the ears of God! Let your heart and mind be filled with music every day. Play Christian worship songs in the car while you drive and in your home while you work. Hum “Give me Jesus” or “The Goodness of God” while you load the dishwasher or belt out “How Great Thou Art” while you are mowing the lawn. Wake up in the morning with songs of praise running through your head and go to bed singing songs of praise to God.
- Attend church reularly.
Yes, I know you already go to church on Sunday morning, but get up earlier and go to Sunday School as well. And most importantly, make sure you are going to a church whose focus is soley on the Word of God and not on the Rules and Regulations of some Denomination! We are Christians first and foremost: follower of Christ and His teachings. The name of the church we attend is important only if it DOESN’t STRICTLY FOLLOW THE TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE.
Then find time to take in Bible study on Wednesday night and as many of the special services as you possibly can. How close would you feel to your children if you never saw them? This not only gets you into God’s presence more often, but also gives you more opportunities to dig into God’s word and to get answers to some of the questions about scriptures that you have perhaps been mulling over from your own Bible reading. In Sunday School and Bible study, you get a chance to talk with others about their experiences and relationships with God. It is tremendously helpful! King David said, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.” (Psalm 122:1)
- Pray without ceasing
The best way to get to know someone is to talk to that individual, and not just to talk, but to listen as well. The Old Testament is filled with examples of people who prayed. In the New Testament we have the excellent example of Jesus who constantly went aside to pray alone or with Peter and John. Paul, in his letters, emphasizes prayer, encouraging Christians to pray without ceasing, to give thanks to God in all circumstances, to pray for each other and for his ministry, even as he prays for each of them. But even as we spend time in prayer, we must also learn to spend time in silence, listening for God to speak to us. One pastor wrote that the most important part of his prayer life was the fifteen minutes after he said “amen.”
Martin Luther once said ““To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” If that is indeed true, many Christians need to be on life support!
- Be a generous giver
Generous not only with your money, but also with your time and your talents. If you are musical and the church needs a musician, help out. If a teacher, help with children’s church or Sunday School classes. If a builder, help when something needs to be repaired or built around the church. If you are creative, make suggestions where they are needed. Anyone can give money and God expects us to give generously out of our abundance, but each of us also has specific talents that He has blessed us with that can be used within the church. Where a need arises where we can help, He expects us to do what we can.
- Share Jesus with others
Through our actions and through our words, as the Holy Spirit gives us the opportunity we need to share Jesus with others. As we also give to missions, we help fulfil the great commission to spread the Gospel to all the world.
- Set your mind on heaven
Remember that our time here on earth is only temporary. Eternity will be spent with Jesus elsewhere and it is that world that we should constantly think about. Hebrews 13:14 reminds us “ For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.”
- Fellowship with other Christians
Although we want to reach out to the lost, out closest friends should be among fellow Christians so that we can share one another’s burdens and encourage one another. In a world as filled with evil as this one, the strength of the faith of our friends will help lift us up when circumstances have beaten us down.
- Keep a Prayer Journal.
Our Senior Pastor challenged us write down at least one prayer each day every day of 2025 in a prayer journal. Sometimes writing out the prayer as we pray helps keep our minds better focused. It also allows us to look back later to see prayers that God has answered, as well as to see how our prayers have changed through the year. Dr. Garland Vance also advocates doing this. He generally does it at the end of the day, sharing his thoughts on the day with God. He also suggests beginning the day with 6 minutes of silence in the morning during which he waits for God to speak to him. Vance says “If you can’t sense His presence, you won’t hear His voice. If you can’t hear His voice, you won’t know His will. That’s why the discipline of becoming aware of God’s presence is vital for all Christians.”
Make this year the year in which you find God, really discover Him in a way that you have never found Him before! Our Sunday School class at State Line Christian Church in Edgar County, IL just finished several weeks of exploring the nature of God and now we are starting with the book of Genesis and looking for God in the Scriptures. It seems like such an obvious thing. But we are discovering nuances of meaning that we have someone glossed over all of our lives. It is a journey of wondrous discovery!
“As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.”
Psalm 41:1