Woman to Woman: Increase Your Awareness of God's Presence

We are all familiar with the truth of God’s Presence with us through the Holy Spirit. But how many of us truly experience His Presence throughout our days? Personally, I enjoy a robust quiet time early in the morning, which then continues during my drive to work. During this time, I sense the Lord’s Presence in a very real way, but then the demands of the day kick in.

By increasing awareness of God’s Presence through prayer, I hope to sense His Presence more readily at other times.

We know God is always with us, as Jesus promised the Father would send the Holy Spirit, who dwells with us and in us. (John 14:16-17). But sometimes the demands of our everyday lives make it difficult to recognize His Presence. We can practice and learn more awareness of God’s Presence with us throughout our days. Cultivating an awareness of God’s Presence is a spiritual discipline like Bible reading, prayer or worship, available to all Christians. So how do we cultivate an awareness of God’s Presence with us? Psalm 89:15-16 gives us a clue:

“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
They rejoice in your name all day long;
they celebrate your righteousness.“

The richness of this verse blesses me as I sit with it. The Hebrew word used here for “presence” means “face” or “countenance”. Walking in the light of God’s countenance, able to speak with Him “face to face” certainly brings joy to my heart. But “all day long”? Believing God is with me in the moments of my day, how could I remain present to Him, literally walking in the light of His countenance?

Prayer seems an area of struggle for many Christians. We all learned prayer is simply a conversation with God, but it often ends up one sided. Often, I come away from my prayer time feeling I “talked” too much and listened too little.

I thought about this a good deal over the past weeks and concluded I am complicating the process.

Throughout my day I do still talk with God, but it is not with focus or full awareness of His presence.

Meeting God Within My Day

Developing a system for increasing awareness of God’s Presence through prayer during my day required simplicity. Using a series of prayer prompts and short focused prayers, I devised a plan to incorporate this aspect into two mindfulness breaks throughout my day.

Each break lasts between five and ten minutes, consisting of mindful breathing, and a short, focused prayer.

Try one of these short prayers I use in a typical week.

Father God, I trust You to lead me one moment at a time today.

Thank you, Lord that your Presence brings significance to the small moments of my day.

Father God, help me to curb my anger and frustration, responding with peace that comes from You.

Show me Lord, what you are already doing today, that I may align my ways with yours.

Dear God, help me take my troubled thoughts captive that I might bring them to You.

Open my eyes to attitudes that grieve you today, Lord.

O Father, let me hear Your voice above all the others today.

I don’t always use a different one each day, I may repeat a particular prompt or prayer as the Lord leads. Keep things fluid, don’t complicate the process by rigidity, allow the Lord to guide your focus. Remember, the purpose of this process is increasing awareness of God’s Presence through prayer.

Truly, God is present whether we are reading our Bibles, at our jobs or washing dishes. Adding mindful prayer breaks simply helps us recognize him there.

Every moment is an opportunity to connect with God, allowing us the privilege of offering thanksgiving and praise for His detailed involvement in our lives.