by Walter Beuttler
“Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? says the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:24
The Lord “fills” both heaven and earth. This is His omnipresence, which is the fact of His being present everywhere. This aspect of His presence may, or may not be revealed or felt. When it is revealed, it is simply a feeling of “presence,” apart from the revelation of a person.
The manifest presence of God is more than this. It speaks of a presence in which the Lord reveals Himself as a person with personality and feelings.
“He that has My commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves Me: and he that loves Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to Him.” John 14:21
This is more than spiritual, or inner perception. It means that the Lord will make Himself known to us through one or more of our five physical senses. Several years ago, the Lord had been awakening me during the night. Usually, at precisely 2:30, I would become aware of His being present. This meant that I was to get up and sit in His presence; a half hour, an hour, or sometimes through the rest of the night.
The next night, I would experience the same thing. This was a strong presence, in which worship would rise up from deep within me. One time, the Lord came and stood at the foot of my bed. Then He audibly sang a song that had a special meaning for me.
The Lord would come into my room in many different ways. Often, He would wake me up by knocking. When I heard this knock, I noticed that it would be exactly 2:30. Usually, I could tell the intention of the Lord by the way He knocked. If it was something urgent, the knock would have that characteristic. Sometimes it would be hardly audible and so delicate that I knew He had come as a lover for a time of fellowship.
I began to wonder why the Lord almost always came at 2:30. I knew that Scripturally, no hour is more significant than another. I sought the Lord concerning this, and He gave me the understanding that I desired. Long before, I had learned that there was a higher purpose for the night times than just sleeping. The Lord has revealed many choice truths to me during the long nights, as I spent time in His presence by waiting upon Him.
Then the Lord spoke this to me. “By 2:30, you have had enough sleep so you will be able to commune with Me for a time without falling asleep. And when we finish, there is enough time left for you to receive adequate rest for your day’s work.”
Our Lord is very considerate and understanding. This caused me to love and respect the Lord even more. This experience of an active relationship with the Lord in “waiting upon Him” requires more self-discipline than any other area of experience. I cannot stay up to watch the late show, or for any other distraction. Nor can I afford to socialize at night.
When my time for bed comes, which is quite early, I excuse myself from whoever may be present, and go to bed. My appointment with the Lord is of far greater importance.
One night, I was awakened as the Lord walked away from the foot of my bed. I saw Him for only a moment. He was dressed in white glistening garments and I heard the rustling of these garments. The closest I can come to this sound, by way of description, is to say that it was like the leaves on a poplar tree. These make a rustling sound when the wind blows. At the same time, my room became filled with the presence of the Lord.
I looked at my watch and it was exactly 2:30. I had placed a chair next to the stove, where I could be comfortable. I sat there in His presence, until a quarter to five. Then I said, “Lord, do You mind if I go back to bed?” I waited, and as there was no answer, I returned to my bed.
After I fell asleep, two hands came over my shoulders and literally pulled me upright into a sitting position. I do not know how this could have happened, as I was in the room alone. I only know that it did, and that there is no possible human explanation for this experience.
Again, there was a strong manifestation of His presence. When this happened, it was five o’clock. I had been in bed for fifteen minutes. I stayed up in His presence until about seven o’clock. Then I said, “Lord, I must get ready for school,” and did so. At this time, I had no indication of what the purpose of the Lord might have been.
That morning, the subject in my first class was the book of Hosea. This is a wonderful book, in which God gives us an insight into His broken heart. I had been teaching only about ten minutes, when I sensed an unusual presence. I pushed back my book and said, “Students, there is quite a presence here, let us pause and see what this means.”
At once, there came a powerful prophetic utterance and the classroom was electrified. Hands went up, and worship began to flow out from the students. Oh, such a presence of God. Then everything became quiet and a girl began to beautifully sing. Her voice went to unusual highs, and then deep lows. It was as if she were in an opera. Another girl followed, and then sometimes they sang together in profound harmony, or answered each other in the spirit. After this, we were given the interpretation.
It was the expression of a love relationship between the Lord and His Church. Then the power fell again, and there was profound rejoicing. The class time passed and the bell rang. It was time to leave the classroom, but no one left. Everyone was taken up in praising the Lord.
Another class came, but could not enter as we were still there. As they stood outside in the vestibule, wondering what they should do, the Holy Spirit fell on them, and they entered into the worship. Another hour went by, and all of us were still there.
Again the bells rang, and the third class came. We were still in the classroom; the vestibule was still filled with the second class, so the third class stood outside the building, wondering what they should do. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit fell on them, and they began to worship in a beautiful harmony with the others.
By noontime, the Holy Spirit had fallen upon the entire school. When dinnertime came, only a few out of several hundred were there. When Bible School students do not show up for dinner, there is one of three reasons. Either they are sick, in love, or there is revival. This was the beginning of a revival that lasted for ten days, in which God moved in a mighty way.
It had begun the night before, when I was literally pulled upright in my bed. I clearly believe that had I not rightly responded to this experience during the night, this revival would have been missed. It had its origin in my “waiting upon the Lord” during the hours of that night.
Our responding to the presence of the Lord, and waiting upon Him “in His presence,” is of tremendous value.