You make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8

Last time we asked the question: Why don’t more Christians experience God’s Presence? The first reason was that we don’t know or believe it’s available. Today we’ll look at the second reason: We don’t know how to get there.

Once we know and believe that the presence of God is something that is available to us, the obvious question is “How do I get there? How do we plug in and experience it for ourselves?

According to today’s verses, God, Himself makes that known to us. “You make known to me the path of life.” So what we’re really asking is how does God reveal Himself—How does He make Himself known? How can we position ourselves to receive the revelation God of Himself?

There are obvious answers like reading the Bible, Prayer, Fasting, etc. And there’s plenty of ‘formulas’. Often believers stumble into something that works for them; they latch onto it because it has greatly impacted their life. And they surround it with a Bible verse or two and begin to teach others.

Don’t misunderstand me…It is wonderful when any believer gets a revelation of the presence of God that changes their life—that opens up for them an entire new dimension of intimacy with Jesus. I totally rejoice for them and their experience.

But the God who won’t fit in a box often shares His presence in ways that don’t fit in our neat boxes or formulas. So it’s not surprising that while a few may be truly helped to find deeper intimacy with Jesus by following in the footsteps of others who have blazed some ‘new’ trail, others can’t seem to make it work for them.

But the Bible actually gives us some more specific answers that we should consider. I don’t like heaping up verses (there are so many good ones) but here are a few that speak directly to our topic:

Actively Seek the Lord:
Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually. (1 Chr 16:11)
He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Heb 11:6)
You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord. (Jer 29:13,14)

Be Available to His Presence: “Draw me, and I will run after You” (Song 1:4)

Abide in Jesus
I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit (Is 57:15)
If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us (1 Jn 4:12)
Abide in Me, and I in you. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (Jn 15:4-5)
Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love (Jn 15:9)

Boldness
Come boldly to the throne of grace…Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Heb 4:16)
Having therefore boldness, brethren, to enter into the Holies … let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, (Heb 10:19,22)