The Doorway Into God’s Presence
Do you struggle to feel connected to God? Close fellowship with God is a common longing for many Christians, who are unsure what the doorway into God’s presence is.
God has promised in Psalm 22:3 that He inhabits the praises of His people, and God is always true to His promise. Our sincere worship provides a place of meeting with God—a place for us to encounter His very presence and embrace His invitation to join Him in His plans.
Psalm 95:1–2; 6–8 describes this access point and the biblical guidelines for bringing us into God’s presence. “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts….”
There’s a beautiful progression in this Psalm that brings us into the immediate presence of God. It starts with loud and jubilant praise and thanksgiving: “let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.”
“Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving.” God encourages us to express freely our praises, our thanksgiving. Praise and thanksgiving lead us on into worship.
Worship and praise each accomplish and fulfill similar but different purposes. Worship is not so much an utterance as it is an attitude. It’s bowing down, it’s kneeling, it’s submitting ourselves to God. And when we come into that attitude of worship, then we qualify to hear God’s voice. As we go further into the passage, it says, “Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” This posture communicates humility, and respect for God’s holiness.
And then the psalmist says, “Today, if you will hear His voice…” Sadly, there are so many Christians and churchgoers who hardly know what it is to hear God’s voice, and yet that’s the key to all success in the spiritual life – hearing God’s voice. And notice the verse says if. “If you will hear His voice.”
This reminds me of what Jesus said, “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing” (Matthew 13:15). It is up to each of us to remain sensitive and attentive to the voice of God. If you are one who feels your heart has become dull and your spiritual ears have become hard of hearing. Repent and ask God to help you. Then commit to practicing praise and worship… until… you hear God speaking to you.
If we’ll follow the pathway of praise and thanksgiving, leading us to worship, bringing us to an attitude where we can hear God’s voice, then we have the key to measureless blessings, and fellowship with God.
Lastly, this passage says, “Do not harden your hearts…” We often harden our hearts toward God due to disappointment, a prayer not answered, a tribulation we face, or the guilt of sin. When we harden our heart, our fellowship with the Holy Spirit is broken. We must first repent. Only then can we praise and worship to create an atmosphere where God is welcome.
Make a clear path for God’s presence to connect with your spirit. If you are harboring unforgiveness, sin or rebellion—God, in His holiness, cannot approach. Even though you are still God’s child, you are in rebellion, and He is unable to fellowship with you. Too many have lost the habit of judging themselves and daily allowing the Holy Spirit to search their hearts. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:24-25).
According to God’s Word, praise and thanksgiving are the doorway into God’s presence. Sadly, many people only praise the Lord when they are emotionally motivated to feel thankful. And God often becomes our whipping post and scapegoat for anything that has seemingly gone wrong, or isn’t the way we want it to be. Again, this requires our repentance. Our emotions are part of our soul, which is an access point to our spirit. We must choose to give praise and thanksgiving no matter how we feel–rather than wait to feel like doing it.
1 Samuel 15:22 describes this dilemma. “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” Samuel gives us a powerful key to how God thinks. God is more interested in our obedience to His Word than in our sacrifice. Wow!
1 Thessalonians 5:18, Ephesians 5:18-20, Psalm 136:26 are only a few Scriptures that remind us of God’s desire for our praise and thanksgiving toward Him. In faith, we can obey His request, knowing that in all things—according to His Word—our obedience works for our good and His glory.
In addition, many have lost the willingness to repent of sin. All Christians stumble while living in this fallen world. But we have a Savior who cares for us. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16).
Just as Jesus went daily to the hills to be alone with God, to worship Him, to hear His voice, and become strengthened by fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit, we can do the same. Welcoming the Holy Spirit is offering an invitation for Him to more fully overtake our hearts and to make His presence more evident to us. The Holy Spirit’s presence can open new doors of our understanding and fill our hearts with overflowing joy.
If you are struggling with depression or grief, praise is God’s antidote. As we praise out loud with our spirit, soul and body, God’s presence breaks the bondage of these evil spirits that rob us of joy.
Do you want to sense God’s presence? When you are born-again, you gain the privilege of access into God’s presence through praise and worship. God is drawn to an atmosphere of worship and praise, but we must create that environment for Him–expressing our desire to fellowship with Him.
He has already done so much for us; in providing eternal life, by paying in full for our sins (Isaiah 53:5), and our healing (1 Peter 2:24), our provision (Philippians 4:19), and so much more. Is it too much to expect us to take time regularly to thank Him and worship Him—our Savior and Lord for all that He has provided?
Today is a great day to hear the voice of God!
With God, nothing is impossible!
God bless you,
Dale and Paula Black
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