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Waiting in His Presence

by Wade E Taylor

“I love them that love Me; and those who seek Me early shall find Me… that I may cause those who love Me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.”  Proverbs 8:17, 21

The true seeking of God is a continuous seeking.  It has to do with the poise (set) of our spirit being lifted toward the Lord in an attitude of worshipful listening.

“And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.”  II Chronicles 26:5

The Lord is seeking interpreters, those who personally know Him and have received an understanding of His ways.  We can only come to personally know Him by spending time with Him in His Presence.

Our being an “interpreter of God” means that we have developed an appreciation and respect for His presence, and can relate the “written word” to the present working of the Lord in the lives of those who seek to better know Him.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go: I will guide you with My eye.”  Psalm 32:8

This guidance without words is the result of an active relationship with Jesus, in which His presence abides within us, and we “know” through the deep inner perception of our spirit.

We cannot develop this ability to hear from the Lord unless we first learn to wait upon the Lord.  This “waiting” must be experienced in times set apart in which we are alone with Him.  These set-apart-times must have a place within our daily life experience.

There are two aspects to our waiting on the Lord.

The first has to do with our withdrawal from all activity, and entering into a consciousness of His Presence, in an attitude of anticipation and worship.

The second cannot be done without the first.

“Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  I Corinthians 10:31

It is possible for us to be shut in with the Lord, in the midst of activity.  This will take time as it does not come easily, or at once.  This higher level of relationship begins with our entering our set-apart-place and then waiting on the Lord during specific times, which are set aside for this purpose.  Then, we can carry His Presence out with us to abide in all that we do.

The first step to beginning a true seeking of God is for us to set aside time in which we quietly wait to hear His knock upon the door of our spirit.  As we begin to wait, we should not fight any thoughts that appear.  These thoughts, being like the air in a glass, cannot be pulled out.  Rather, something else must be put in to replace them, or better, to displace them.

Our understanding the fact of the “omnipresence” of the Lord will help us to do this.  Note Jeremiah 23:24:

“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.”

We can encourage ourselves with the fact that the Lord is present, no matter how we may feel.  This is a tremendous truth and will greatly help us, once it gets hold of us.  Our making use of the fact of His presence, as we wait on the Lord, is like recharging a battery.  It is a renewing process of His life flowing into our lives – a joining of our spirit with the Lord through faith.  It will grow gradually and become our delight.

Another way to understand this is that we, as being a branch, are to draw the life of the vine into our spirit.

“I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5

As our mind is renewed by waiting on the Lord, it is brought closer to His mind (our understanding His ways).

But we have the mind of Christ.”  I Corinthians 2:16

This is worked into our spirit as we spend time in the Lord’s presence, waiting upon Him.

The only way for us to enter this relationship of His abiding presence is to begin waiting upon the Lord on a regular basis, with a determination to not stop until we have met with and supped with Him.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind Romans 12:2

Now, both our waiting, and our abiding in His presence, will become a joy.