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Feb 24, 2025 18:00pm

The Role of God’s Word in a Presence-Centered Life

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There are adjustments that must be made if you desire to live in the presence of God all day long. There must be a turning from and a turning to.

TURNING FROM

Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on. (Proverbs 4:14-15)

Evil is all around us. Satan makes sure that your world is filled with everything that would entice you, capture your time and attention, and pull you away from the presence of Christ.

He’ll use any device necessary and does not care what harm it does. If he can, he will seek to get you in a regular pattern so that the rut goes deep, and he knows that it will not take much to pull you away from Christ.

This is why the Proverbs are so clear: avoid it, do not pass by it, turn away from it and pass on. To abide in God’s presence we must learn how to consistently recognize the distractions (big and small) and resist them.

TURNING TO

But we cannot neglect the second half of the equation. We must turn to God and His Word. We must choose to sit at His feet, like Mary, if we are not going to be distracted, like Martha.

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight. Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:20-23)

A presence-centered man continually places the Word of God before his eyes, knowing it is the Divine antidote to Satan’s distractions. He listens to the Lord in the morning as he begins his day, arming himself with Scripture. He memorizes and meditates on the Word throughout the day. And in His interactions with the Scripture, he is seeking to commune with God, personally and fully. His goal is not knowledge alone, but God’s presence.

He prays without ceasing, praying about everything throughout the day. He reads the Word again at night. He reads it so often that he begins to see the depth of the riches there, and it becomes not his duty but his delight.

And, in reading and meditating on God’s Words, he draws near …. and God draws near to him.