When He Comes Into the Room...

In church culture, especially worship, a lot of references are made to “the presence of God.” I’ve accepted this phrase as just part of Christianese – the dialect that most Christians come to adopt, a language full of phraseology and vocabulary that are very common to the Christian experience that people on the “outside” may or may not understand. But lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what that phrase means. “The presence of God.” What is it? What does IT do?

Presence is the state of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing. So when we say we experience or feel the “presence of God,” we mean, basically, that God is there. When God is there, something happens. Things shift. Faith rises. The impossible seems possible. The atmosphere changes. Depression lifts. Miracles occur. Why? Because the creator of the universe is there. It's not some mystical thing. The Bible says in Matthew 18:20 that when a few are gathered together, God is right there in the middle of it.

I’ve noticed that a lot of times when we have prolonged session of worship, the Lord tends to move in a common vein. At my church, City of Life, we used to have a Wednesday service that was devoted strictly to worship for about six months straight. In our ADD culture, you’d think that six months of weekly 90-minute worship sessions may tend to get repetitive or stale. However, God did something unique and different in each service. From listening to other worship leaders talk, I think this is a common experience. For instance, in one session of worship the focus may be on healing. Or on another night, the focus may be on liberty.

So what is it about our worship, when God's presence is there, that draws out specific elements of God’s character and nature and enables us to have a unique experience with Him? The only way I can really think of it is to parallel it to preparing for the presence of a human being. After all, God patterned us like Himself when he made us in His image.

When I’m about to enter a group of people who have gathered for a purpose, whether it’s for a party, or a meeting, or a church service, I go in with an attitude, with certain expectations of what will happen, and with a mindset prepared toward their expectations of what my role in the group will be. For instance, if I’m preparing to go into a party, I know that I’m going to need to be lighthearted and fun, no matter how crappy my day has been, or else everyone will be thinking to themselves, "What's wrong with her?" If I’m going into a work meeting, I know I’d better be prepared to voice my opinions, present items that I’ve been asked to prepare, and come with my best, most creative ideas. If I’m having lunch with my best friend, I can prepare to laugh, cry, or do both, because the atmosphere is such. I wouldn’t go into a party with a meeting attitude. And I certainly wouldn’t go into a meeting with a party attitude!

So, when we have a church service, where many people are gathered for a variety of reasons, the atmosphere that we set can draw out different aspects of God’s character and personality. I’ve been in services that seemed like a party. In these situations, it makes sense that God would enter our “party” with a party-like attitude, bringing freedom, liberty, and joy. The atmosphere has been set. The demand has been placed on which side of his personality should be present. And he moves. And it's not like God is Sybil, either, that we just cross our fingers and hope the right one of His multiple personalities shows up. But just as you are capable of being serious at times, then at other times sensitive and empathetic, and then again at other times hard and stern, so is God. There are different aspects to who He is. When He comes, he brings his whole self. He is fully and completely available to us. And He can surely minister joy to some while concurrently ministering love to another and healing to yet another. But the atmosphere determines the general move...

I think the unity of the saints is so vital to a move of God when we're in His presence. If I come to church because I'm forced to, while someone else comes to church because they expect the act of going to church to somehow free them of the guilt they've accumulated for actions done in the week leading up to the service, and yet others come because they want to worship the Lord, then we've got a mixed bag here. If we all come into worship for the same reason and purpose, whatever that may be, then the atmosphere is solid, the expectation is sure, and God will truly move.

When was the last time we walked into a service with a common, united expectation? When we truly expected the supernatural to occur, instead of letting services pass us by week after week and seeing no evident change? Have we come with our minds, attitudes, and focus set on making the atmosphere one in which God feels comfortable to sit right down in the middle of? Have we placed a demand on the Lord by setting the tone, preparing our hearts, and expecting BIG things? These are questions that are challenging me right now. It's not enough to sail along on the faith of your worship leader or pastor. They can't believe for the miraculous for you. Their job is to guide the worshipers into God's presence and then just step aside so that He can do what He wants to do. Unite with your leaders. That's my heart. No longer will I look to my pastors and worship leaders to do the expecting for me.