Why is it so difficult to feel God near sometimes?
Our hectic schedules and hand-held distractions, so often glorified in our modern culture, dull our senses— making it difficult to hear His voice or feel His supernatural touch. Most of us have boundless access to information and relationships through technology, yet we still lack the glory of His presence in our daily experience. Charles Swindoll in Intimacy With the Almighty describes this feeling as being “lonely, hollow, shallow, and enslaved to a schedule that never lets up.”
Maybe this is why we are commanded so many times in scripture to “be still.” Some of these scriptures are listed below:
Psalm 4:4—Meditate within your heart and be still.
Nehemiah 8:11—Be still for the day is holy.
Psalms 37:7—Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him.
Isaiah 30:15—In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and confidence is your strength.
In this same book, Swindoll lists 4 disciplines to live by to experience greater intimacy with God. I believe these each hold the key to experiencing God in a deeper way.
1. Reorder our lives through simplicity.
2. Be still through silence.
3. Cultivate serenity through solitude.
4. Trust the Lord completely through surrender.
The decision we make to incorporate these disciplines into our daily lives opens us up to experience more of His presence. Before more of His glory can fill our lives, it is no surprise that we have to make room for it. But once we surrender these areas of our lives to Him, God is free to fill each one with His presence. We experience Him in the daily tasks— washing the dishes, driving home from the office, grocery shopping. Like in a marriage, sharing these daily moments can be some of the most intimate times.
Then, our prayer can echo Paul’s statement in Philippians 3:8-11—
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…
Every believer struggles with experiencing the presence of God in their daily life. If you would like more resources on developing a deeper relationship with God, you can read Dr. Terry Law’s book, The Fight of Every Believer, available in our online shop.
