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After closing our doors for two Sundays due to inclement weather, churches across our community met again this past weekend for what I am sure were powerful gatherings. With so much discouraging news in our world recently, it seems to me that people are hungry for a genuine encounter with the Lord. I am praying that the churches across our nation will see an undeniable visitation from God in the days ahead. A heaven-sent revival is exactly what we need.
The cry of every human heart is to know and connect with our Creator in a meaningful way. To better understand what we should be praying for, allow me to make a distinction between the omnipresence of God and the manifest presence of God.
The Lord’s omnipresence simply means that He is everywhere at the same time. The psalmist illustrates God’s inescapable presence: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there” (Psalm 139:7-8). The problem, though, is that God can be present while we remain totally unaware that He is with us. He may be everywhere, but He works differently at given times in various places.
For example, is God present in a church building when its doors are locked, and the people are not there? Certainly! But is He present in the same way when His people assemble in that building for worship? I hope not. The manifest presence of God, you see, refers to those unique moments when God makes Himself known in such a way that we cannot ignore Him.
Scripture offers plenty of instances of these rare but powerful encounters with God.
From the Lord walking with Adam and Eve in Eden’s Garden (Gen. 3:8) to His tearing of the veil of the temple and shaking the earth as Jesus died on the cross (Matt. 27:51), sometimes we cannot ignore the overwhelming presence of God even if we try. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Babylon’s fiery furnace, I long for God to show up in a pronounced way with greater frequency for longer periods of time.
Dooley
When the Lord manifests His presence, we realize that He is our greatest treasure. Thus, every time we gather as believers, in the spirit of James 4:8, we should draw near to God believing that He will draw near to us. Like Moses, what we need more than anything or anyone else is a glimpse of God’s revealed glory (Exodus 34:6-8).
That’s when we learn that God is compassionate. Though we are dead in our trespasses and sins He is willing to make us alive in Christ (Eph. 2:1-7). He is gracious, because though our sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow (Isa. 1:18). He is slow to anger even though all have sinned and fall short of His glory (Rom. 3:23). He is abounding in loving kindness, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). He is abounding in truth, because He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He forgives iniquity and transgression and sin, though we pierced, crushed, and chastened Him (Isa. 53:5). He is holy, which means He is unwilling to leave the guilty unpunished and He will smite the nations with the sword of His mouth (Rev. 19:15).
I fear that far too often, we prefer God’s blessings over God Himself. We want protection from Hell. We need healing from sickness. We crave material prosperity. We approach God like a genie in a bottle expecting Him to give, give, give. We want just enough religion to make ourselves feel better, but still so little that it makes God sick. And we forget that, without God in our midst, all forms of religious piety are dead and worthless.
So, let’s pray that God will revive our hearts. Let’s submit ourselves to the gospel of Christ and the authority of Holy Scripture. Let’s seek the Lord while He may be found. Pray that our hunger for God would grow. Pray that God’s presence would fall on your city and mine. Pray that our churches would grow tired of business as usual. Pray that God will show us His glory! B&R – Adam B. Dooley is pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson and author of “Hope When Life Unravels and Exalting Jesus in 1-2 Chronicles.” Contact him at adooley@ebcjackson.org. Follow him on Twitter @AdamBDooley.
