Part III: Awareness of the Unseen
You will not be abandoned, but I will not intercede.
You’ve got to look past them, look past them.
Set your sight on me.
Oh Sleeper, Two Ships
In the last post we explained that humans are actually hybrid life forms–partly physical and partly spiritual. While our bodies operate within the physical realm, our human spirits allow us to operate in the spiritual realm. As believers, Jesus Christ dwells inside of us within our spirit. Because He is spirit, we must apprehend Him by our spirits in order to fellowship with Him and live by His divine life.
Despite having a sprit indwelt by the Holy Spirit, perceiving the things of the Lord isn’t something with which we’re naturally familiar. One reason why our spiritual senses start out so dull is because we’ve grown accustomed to living in the physical realm. We’re born into a physical existence with physical senses and grow up amid our physical surroundings. Despite our hybrid nature, the act of living day after day amid the ordinary can deaden our awareness of the Lord’s nearness.
Our first step toward spiritually apprehending Jesus Christ is simply to make a habit of being aware of the Lord’s presence in us and around us. Awareness leads to fellowship. Fellowship leads to closeness and intimacy. While this sounds simple, it’s no small thing. It’s vitally important and it takes effort. But as we begin to practice His presence and seek His face, He will respond to our effort by making Himself known to us in new and exciting ways. This means of engaging Christ sets the foundation for living by His divine Life.
Believing is Seeing
The Last Battle is the final book of the Chronicles of Narnia series written by C.S. Lewis.
Early in the book, a group of dwarves are fooled into believing that Puzzle the Donkey (being dressed as a lion) was in fact Aslan the Great Lion. (Aslan being the Christ figure of the series). After the deception is revealed, they lose faith in the real Aslan and choose to no longer align themselves with the Narnians. In the meantime, an evil deity named Tash had been summoned. He seeks to take Aslan’s rightful place as the Great Lion of Narnia.
In the climax of the story, King Tirian advances on Stable Hill alone to reveal Tash’s deception. Tash awaits him within the darkness of a stable. But upon entering it, Tirian finds himself amid past friends standing in the middle of a peaceful field amid a grove of trees. Behind him is the stable door standing by itself with nothing behind it. Looking back through the crack of the door, he can still see the flicker of lanterns surrounding Stable Hill back in Narnia. But having walked into the stable, he’s found himself in Aslan’s country.
While in the field, they notice several dwarves huddled close to the door. These were the same dwarves that had lost faith in Aslan. Their behavior is odd. It’s as if they believe they’re still inside the darkness of the stable back in Narnia. The friends try to convince them that they’re in a field and the sun is shining. Unfortunately, the dwarfs are unable to see them but can only hear them.
At once the real Aslan appears. One of the friends asks if Aslan can help the dwarves see that they’re in a field and not inside a stable. But Aslan explains that even he can’t give them proper awareness. Their lack of faith keeps them from seeing the reality before them.
I love this illustration because it reminds me of how we can be standing right in the middle of the Lord’s presence yet still be completely unaware of Him and His Kingdom that surrounds us. Of course, even with our faith, our experience is much less vivid than it was for Tirian. But for Lewis, faith is what makes us aware of being in Aslan’s country.
For us, seeing isn’t believing. Rather, believing is seeing.
Paul describes our apprehension of Christ as imperfect. We see through a glass, darkly (1 Cor 13:12 (KJV)). But we also walk by the eyes of faith and not by eyes physical. A key facet of faith is to be attentive of our Lord and His Kingdom which are unseen.
But how often are we properly focused on Christ? How often do we acknowledge His nearness?
Drawing Near
In the last chapter of his letter to the messianic believers, James offers several admonishments to keep them from becoming like the world which had all but forgotten God. Among them was the need to draw near and remain close to the Lord.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:8 (ESV)
Is James telling us that God’s nearness to us is conditional?
Not really. Though it may feel like it, God never actually leaves our presence. Jesus is presently with us and in us (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5; Col. 1:27; John 14:17). But in a sense, we can stray away from Him. We can do this by ignoring Him and forgetting that He’s there. It’s like if our husband, wife, or best friend walked around with us by our side all day long and we completely ignored them. If He feels distant to us, the remedy is to recognize and acknowledge His presence. We “draw near” to Him by our being mindful and responsive to Him as often as possible. He responds to our “knocking” by drawing near to us, reciprocating our effort, and revealing His thoughts to ours.
In my experience, maintaining an awareness of the Lord as much as possible will “clear the airwaves” by filtering out the static of the mind. It fine-tunes our “spiritual antenna” so that we can be more receptive to what the Spirit is revealing to our souls. The longer, more regular, and more consistent our awareness, the more beneficial it becomes. When we’re focused, it takes more to distract us. It helps us see through the fog of physical reality which so often obscures the spiritual. It anchors our mind to the Spirit.
I’ve found that when I recognize Him as near, I’m much more likely to engage Him in conversation. I’m also less likely to behave in a way that He would disapprove. I’m more likely to defer to Him in my thoughts and actions. I see the world through His eyes–seeing others as He sees them. I’m less likely to be judgmental. I’m more willing to love.
Being acutely aware of God’s presence makes us brave. We’re more sensitive to His direction and empowerment. We become more aware of His nudges and more dependent on His direction. Our faith becomes deeper. Our hope is more tangible. Our love is more consistent. Our joy is more visceral.
Now someone might say, “But I’m fully aware that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. What exactly do you mean by awareness?”
Keep in mind, I’m not talking about simply being aware of our relationship with Christ or being continually aware of the state of our salvation. I’m talking about having an ongoing consciousness that He is physically and spiritually very near us. In fact, He is in us and we are in Him. When we practice God’s presence, we attempt to move Him from being an occasional thought, to being in our background thinking, to eventually becoming our mental focus as often as we can. As we make turning to Him a regular activity throughout the day, our awareness will lead to conscious attentiveness. Our attentiveness will, in turn, lead to fellowship.
Unfortunately, the discipline of practicing God’s presence has been misunderstood by main-stream Christianity. Some of this comes from the discouragement of well-meaning believers that have conflated awareness of God’s presence to eastern religious meditation or “new age” practices. But what I advocate is nothing more than what Jesus practiced as recorded throughout the Gospel of John. Jesus Christ is the only human to have ever had a perfect and consistent awareness of His indwelling Father. We merely seek to practice the same awareness with the indwelling Son.
Turning Awareness into Habit
So exactly how do we practice God’s presence? How do we turn awareness into a habit?
Simple, just think about Him more often! Right?
Well, sort of.
It turns out that firm spiritual habits aren’t that easy to establish. Scientists will tell you that our minds are sort of like dirt roads. Our thought patterns are like ruts in that road caused by the constant wear of established mental habits. To instill a new habit, we must do things to create new ruts in the road. This doesn’t happen automatically. It takes intentionality, perseverance, and the pressure of our will. We must drive across the road repetitively in a different place. It’s a form of repentance. It requires a change in our thinking to such a degree that it’s more rightly a change in lifestyle.
Below are several beneficial practices that I’m incorporating into my life to draw near to Christ. But before we talk about them, let me give you a couple of disclaimers.
First, understand that nothing I share with you should be considered “law”. A “law” is when we perform a ritual out of a sense of religious duty. We are no longer under law, but under Christ. Just like with any other religious activity, if any of these practices become ritualistic, please discontinue use and immediately re-focus on seeking relationship with your King.
As you grow, you may discover entirely new ways of being aware of God’s nearness. You will also find that specific practices will become dull over time. Remember, you’re pursuing a relationship with the Lord. Just like in a good marriage or good friendship, it’s important to mix things up every now and then to keep it fresh.
Second, many of you have been practicing these things for years. They will be nothing new to you. But for others, these practices will be new. For you, they may seem weird–maybe even uncomfortable. They may not align with view of Christ you grew up with. I would simply ask that you consider surrendering your worries, concerns (and possibly your rigidity, pride, and dignity) to the loving care of Christ. He disdains any wall between you and Him. The relationship He invites us into is not one of cold, arms-length transactions. It’s a relationship of severe honesty, emotion, and exposure.
Correcting False Notions
Many of us sabotage our journey from the start because of a false perception we unfairly project on the Lord. We may view Him as too busy, angry, disinterested, ashamed, or frustrated at our failures. We might see Him as disconnected and indifferent to our present situation. Before we pursue Christ, we need to make sure we’re pursuing the right one: the Christ of reality rather than the Christ of perception.
Jesus Christ died so that by His sacrifice He could re-establish His relationship with mankind. Regardless of what sin we have committed (or continue to commit) the Trinity fully recognizes the sufficiency of the blood of Christ. They no longer condemn you (Rom 8:1). This is because you have been made perfectly clean by that blood. You have been forgiven the transgressions of not only your past, but also your present and future. They are forgotten. You are a new creature. You walk in absolute freedom. From the standpoint of righteousness, the Father sees you the same as He sees the Son.
So how then does Jesus feel about you?
Jesus Christ is mind-blowingly ecstatic about you!
As you enter into His presence, He runs to greet you with a radiant smile. Don’t be ashamed of His feelings toward you. He already knows your secrets (and the things you’re ashamed of). But He tells you that these are not the things that define you. He now defines you.
He lifts you up to meet Him face-to-face. As you talk, He eagerly anticipates your every word with undivided attention and a grateful heart (Rev. 3:20). He will always want to spend more time with you that you’re willing to offer. Even when when you drift into unawareness, He faithfully walks by your side every moment of the day and night. Jesus has many brothers and sisters just like you. He’s thrilled about having you as a member of His family and wants nothing less for you and Him to spend quality time together.
We talk a lot about how we want to tell the whole world about Jesus. But have you ever thought that He wants to tell the whole world about you? In light of all that He is, you bring Him everlasting joy!
Practice confidence in Jesus’s true feelings for you as you approach Him in nearness.
Confronting Distractions
This world is in no short supply of distractions. To be blunt, I believe many of these things are put in place by the systems of this world for the sole purpose of distracting us from the things that matter. They seek to lead you away from our pursuit of the Lord.
Take technology for example. Internet-connected devices (phones, computers, and televisions) have given us instant access to connectivity, facts, knowledge, and entertainment. As great as that might seem, it’s also killing our attention spans, robbing us of relational time, wasting precious fleeting moments, making us angry and unloving, providing access to spiritually damaging material, and frankly making us stupid. It’s a distraction. The time it consumes can also rob us of opportunities to be occupied with our King. Excessive technological binging can also be a sign of something much deeper that we’re trying to mentally escape from–something that the Lord can help us work through instead.
I am not telling you to get rid of your phone, TV, or radio (as this would make me a legalist). But what I am highly recommending you do is to step outside of yourself and seriously consider how these things might be affecting you. Allow the Lord to illuminate you to anything that is getting between the two of you.
Then follow His lead.
Anchor Points
“Anchor points” are what I call specific times of the day when I retreat to some quiet place to give Christ my full attention. Just like with any thriving marriage relationship, daily time of focused attention on the Lord is critical.
While it looks a little different for everyone, I’ll start by sitting comfortably, doing nothing else but resting in His presence. I don’t immediately start praying. In fact, this form of ‘fellowship’ is considered the highest form of prayer. I simply recognize Jesus is right there with me. This could last anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. This allows my mind to calm down and release any preoccupation. If I’m particularly anxious about something, I may need several extra minutes. I spend that time handing those concerns to my King who is happy to take them so that we can fix our eyes on one another. If my mind starts to wander (as it often does) I’ll slowly (not abruptly) draw my mind back to Him. It helps to speak His name occasionally to maintain my focus.
When you first start this practice this habit of silence and rest, many of you will find this to be the most uncomfortable and difficult thing you have ever done. It will feel awkward. You may feel like you’re just thinking empty thoughts to yourself. Your flesh will also resist you. It will tell you you have better things to do. You may be tempted to believe it because you will feel like nothing is going on. But be confident that something is going on. Know that God will find your offering an acceptable sacrifice. He will bless it as He recognizes your effort of drawing near. And in doing so, He will draw near to you.
After a period of resting in His presence, sometimes I might segue into a time of spoken prayer. Depending on where I’m led, I might read a short passage of scripture. But often it’s enough to just silently rest in his presence.
Some may equivocate this with “quiet time”. But as soon as you apply that moniker, people tend to insert daily devotions or something else. Those things might be fine, but it’s important to keep in mind that this is not a ritual. It’s not a methodical ‘block-checking’ exercise to get all the common Christian disciplines out of the way for the day. Remember, you’re engaging in a relationship. We would never ‘script’ the interactions with friends and family, so why would we ‘script’ our interactions with the Lord? While I usually start with silence and resting, everything else is very fluid as I allow the Lord to lead. Simply follow the conversation seems to lead.
I do pretty good to practice this habit once or twice per day. What I’ve found is that the more I make it a regular habit, the more my mind stays attuned to the Lord throughout the rest of the day.
Prayer
Prayer can be a tremendously beneficial way to draw near to Christ. But prayer is also another one of those words we use so often that we can too quickly ascribe to our common experiences and habits. For example, I don’t believe prayer ever needs to be formal–ever. It’s not a list of things that we need to include when we speak to God.
Prayer is simply a conversation.
Of course, as we come to know the the Lord we will express our love, confess our mistakes, thank Him, and ask Him for things. But first and foremost He wants us to be real with Him. Tell Him what’s on your mind. It’s what He wants. There’s no use hiding the issues. When we pray He desires hour honesty, sincerity, reverence, and candidness. He can handle whatever truth He already knows about you. So don’t hold back. He can take it. Of course, we’re respectful. But speak to Him not only as King, but also friend and brother. Over time, you will sense His response.
My favorite example of what real prayer looks like is Tevye’s conversations with God in the musical Fiddler on the Roof. In this scene, some would say Tevye is a little too “chummy” with the Lord. Maybe even a little irreverent. But look again. He’s sincere, honest, and fluid in his conversation. He chats with familiarity and recognizes his dependence. We could learn a lot about prayer from this fictitious Jewish Russian milkman.
Also, prayer doesn’t have to be long, affairs conducted alone, in silence, with your eyes closed. God is not restricted the corner of your house. Remember, He’s always with you. So spend the time talking to Him on long walks. Reflect on Him in nature. Don’t separate Him from your work activity. Invite Him into it. Make Him a part of it.
Prayer doesn’t have to be made of complete sentences. The Lord is not a grammar Nazi. He’s not looking for meter or rhyme. Your conversation can be as simple as calling out the Lord’s name.
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours…
1 Corinthians 1:2 (ESV)
Scripture emphasizes that there’s something about the Lord’s name that’s powerful. There’s also something powerful about doing something with your body (speaking) rather than just in your mind (thinking). Verbally calling upon His name saves us (Joel 2:32). (Recall that salvation has several dimensions.) When I’m driving somewhere, or working, or doing chores at the house, I’ll call on His name using simple phrases: Something like “Jesus, my King”, or “Lord, I love you”, or “I need you, Lord”, or “Thank you, Father.” Of course, I’m not saying these things mindlessly or out of some ritual habit, but out of a spirit of conscious dependence.
Spiritual Mnemonics
A mnemonic is a memory device that aids in our remembering something. We can apply this tool at strategic places in our lives to help us maintain an awareness of the Lord. Below are several recommendations.
When you first wake up, you might try to make it a habit of setting your mind on the Lord for just a few minutes before you get out of bed. You can say a few simple words to Him, or just lay quietly in His presence. (Be sure you’re somewhat awake before you try this, else you could go back to sleep and be late for work.) Likewise, you might try to make it a habit of being aware of the Lord as you drift off to sleep. Remember, even now He’s not too busy for you. It pleases Him to watch a son or daughter drift off to sleep with their having an acute awareness that He’s right there with them.
The place where I lose awareness of the Lord the quickest is in the middle of some work project or mentally tedious assignment during the day. It’s here that I’m most susceptible to stress and act out in the flesh rather than the spirit. In these situations, it might be helpful to have a Bible or some Christian art on your desk as a reminder of His presence. Depending on your ‘tribe’ of Christianity, a simple crucifix or an icon of Christ might serve the same purpose for you. Just about anything might work, so long as it acts as a reminder and it doesn’t fade into the background of your work surroundings to that point that you forget about it.
Another method is to remember the Lord every time you do a certain thing. For example, every time you sit down at your desk, you might turn to the Lord quietly and recognize His presence. Others have recommended setting the hourly chime on their digital wristwatch to beep on the hour. Every time you hear the ‘beep’, you could turn to Him for 30-60 seconds and say a few words of adoration before returning to your work task.
Reminding One Another
Sometimes the best reminder that the Lord is with you is when you share an awareness of Him with others. I’m not necessarily talking about personal evangelism (though this would certainly fit). I’m simply referring to a habit of mentioning something about the Lord regularly, during normal conversations among friends and family. This might include acknowledging Him among others at work or in other activities.
To be honest, this is a strange thing for me. When I was growing up, “church talk” ended after the final prayer of Sunday service and would not be mentioned again until the call to worship next Sunday morning. The Lord was not a part of my normal family conversations. This contributed to my being unaware of His presence. Today, I’m trying to make a habit of making Christ a subject of regular conversation with my own family. When I do, we all receive a regular reminder that He is real and always among us. Conversely, I want to be around others who are constantly pointing me to the Lord. I need to be reminded of a personal, incredibly relational, and infinitely relevant God who loves me unconditionally and speaks into my present situation. I need to be reminded of the One that knows my deepest thoughts and loves me despite them.
It’s by pointing one another to the Lord that we’re reminded of his continuous presence. For me, this is the biggest reason why the church is (or should be) a community.
A Sense of Expectancy
Because He is working out His eternal purpose, the Lord is living and active. He is constantly arranging things while setting other things in motion. This includes divine appointments meant for you and I. Sometimes these appointments involves getting our attention.
The Lord still speaks to His children. He makes us aware of His presence in a variety of ways. Because He is Spirit, He’s not limited to traditional human methods of communication. He will speak to us by away of a thought, circumstances, or through the words of others. For this reason, it’s important that we maintain a sense of expectancy and anticipation of His presence in all circumstances.
As we go about our daily routines, it’s helpful to have the mindset of asking ourselves, “What is He doing right now?” and “What might He be saying in this situation?“. Otherwise we might Him off as a random thought, a coincidence, or nothing unusual.
Continuous Fellowship
Disciplined routines and memory devices certainly have their place in practicing awareness. But we should also build into our engagement a sense of spontaneity and harmony with our daily routines and chance interactions. Put together, these practices can lead to a nearly continuous fellowship with the Lord.
For Brother Lawrence, practicing God’s presence involved mentally turning to Jesus in his spirit frequently and regularly as he went about his monastic chores. This included speaking to Him gently, humbly, and lovingly. Lawrence believed this form of communion should be practiced regularly in every moment and without restriction or reservation. He felt it was especially important when feeling tempted, sorrowful, after a sin was committed, and “in dry times when we do not feel Him near, when prayer becomes irksome.” It was through these micro-conversations throughout the day he would find real pleasure in the Lord’s company.
But to be fair, Brother Lawrence was a cook and spent a good deal of his time in the monastery kitchen where he could focus his attention on the Lord without much distraction. Even so, we should not be dissuaded from being intentionally focused on the Lord for extended periods of time. I tend to usually do this when I’m among others and I’m not doing anything that requires a tremendous amount of mental effort.
For example, earlier today, I placed a walk-in order at the local pizza place. After ordering, I sat down on the bench in front of the counter and spent some time in prayer and focused awareness of the Lord. The place was very busy and the day had been long. While I waited, I was led to pray for several employees as they went about their work. As I watched, I would try to discern what the Lord wanted me to speak for each of them. By the time my pizza was done several people had been silently blessed. While I could have spent those minutes in wasteful, unproductive thought, I was instead blessed by the visceral nearness of Christ.
Now, you might be wondering, “Is it possible to fellowship with God every minute of the day?”
This was the goal of Frank Laubach. Frank was a missionary who spent time goal teaching literacy to the Moro people of a remote part of the Philippines in the early 1900’s. In Letters By a Modern Mystic, Laubach chronicles a 16-month personal “experiment” during which time he sought to fill every minute of his day in fellowship with the Lord. About half-way through the book, he describes his endeavor as “the most strenuous discipline which any man ever attempted”.
“This concentration upon God is strenuous, but everything else has ceased to be so. I think more clearly, I forget less frequently. Things which I did with a strain before, I now do easily and with no effort whatever. I worry about nothing, and lose no sleep. I walk on air a good part of the time. Even the mirror reveals a new light in my eyes and face. I no longer feel in a hurry about anything. Everything goes right. Each minute I meet calmly as though it were not important. Nothing can go wrong excepting one thing. That is that God may slip from my mind if I do not keep on my guard. If He is there, the universe is with me. My task is simple and clear.”
Frank Laubach, Letters By a Modern Mystic
Despite the difficulty in achieving his goal, he had also come to realize that there was tremendous benefit in the pursuit.
Perhaps it’s not the destination, but the journey after all.
We just discussed several practical recommendations for maintaining an awareness of the Lord that lead us to fellowship. I’d suggest not trying them all at once. Just start with one. Don’t add another until the first has become a habit. I’d be curious to hear about your progress!
In the coming weeks, I’m hoping we’ll put some of these habits into practice. Practicing God’s presence is a foundational activity for believers. As you establish this practice, the pursuit of Christ will become much more fluid and natural.
In the next post, we’re going to build on this foundation by getting practical with how we internalize the divine life of Jesus Christ.
The song Two Ships by Oh, Sleeper describes the perception and the reality of God’s presence in our lives. (You’ll recall from Part I my musical preferences, so hopefully you’re better prepared for this one.)
The song has three verses with a chorus. The first two verses describe God watching over us as we attempt to discern His presence through the worry and doubt in our lives. The chorus describes our perception of the distance between Him and ourselves–-just two ships passing in the night. Of course, the chorus is a false perception–it’s a lie.
Most of the song is slow, calm, and melodic. But this all changes in the final verse as God responds to the lie with the truth that He is much nearer than we perceive.
We exist for His eternal purpose. He will be our strength as we participate in His plan so long as we fix our eyes on Him.
If you’re interested in learning more about practicing the presence of God in your life, I’d recommend the following books:
The Practice of the Presence of God (with the Spiritual Maxims), by Brother Lawrence
Letters by a Modern Mystic, by Frank Laubach
The Game With Minutes, by Frank Laubach
The Temple Within, by Milt Rodriguez