How do we know God’s presence?
The only way to know God’s presence is by learning to be in God’s presence. In other words, the only way to know the presence of God is by spending time with God in prayer, worship, and His word.
The more we spend time with God the more sensitive we become to experiencing God’s presence. And when I say “experiencing God’s presence” I’m not solely referring to feeling God, although this can be the case, however, I’m more referring to something we know rather than feel.
Let me explain.
The Bible says that everything we need and will receive from God is accessed through knowing Him.
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him.” (2 Peter 1:2).
Did you notice that it says grace and peace will be multiplied to us as we increase in the knowledge of God?
Grace is not only God’s unmerited favor, but it is also God’s empowerment to help change us from the inside out. Peace is God’s emotional stability to assist us in attacking every crisis in life.
So judging from this verse do you think I might experience more peace internally the more I spend time with God? Of course I will!
Another passage reads, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)
The Holy Spirit is God’s presence on the earth and this verse reveals that perfect righteousness, peace, and joy are found in Him. [Related article: Is the presence of God the Holy Spirit? (Biblical Answer)].
This is what it means to know God’s presence. It doesn’t always mean a physical feeling, instead, it means you know He’s there cause you can sense the joy and the peace that comes when you engage with Him through communion and worship. [Related article: What does the Presence of God Feel Like? (Explained)].
How to know you’re in God’s Presence
You can know you are in God’s presence when the things of this earth slowly fade away from your focus and all you can focus on is God Himself. When this happens, it is common to begin to experience peace, love, and joy because that is what often comes from His presence.
As we mentioned in the above section, God’s presence and the Holy Spirit are One. You cannot have the presence of God without having the Holy Spirit because the Spirit of God is God being present on the earth.
So when the Bible tells us to walk in the Spirit, it is not a stretch to say that we should walk in God’s presence. Another way of saying it is, we should walk with the realization that God is always present with us.
In fact, this is similar to what the Bible defines walking in the Spirit is.
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5)
This verse reveals that to walk in the Spirit we are to simply set our minds on the things of the Spirit. This can be done in a lot of ways; prayer, worship, reading and meditating on scripture, controlling our thoughts, etc. [Related article: How to Enter God’s presence (Step-by-Step Guide)].
So if God’s presence is found in the Holy Spirit, and being in the Spirit is being mindful of the Spirit, would it be ludicrous to say that when my mind is fixed on God I’m in the presence of God?
Ya, I don’t think so either. So get your mind on the things of God and you’ll be in God’s presence. (Related article: 10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Stayed on God)
How to know God’s presence is with you
You can know God’s presence is with you by first being born again by repenting of your sins and believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and then rose from the grave. After this, all that is left for you to do is simply believe God’s word as a fact. This kind of belief can only happen through spending time with God through prayer and the reading of His Word
Obviously, God’s presence is only with those who have the Holy Spirit and are born again (John 14:17).
[In this article, I will not be covering the differences between receiving the Holy Spirit at salvation and receiving the Holy Spirit for power and service. If you want to know more about that you can by clicking on the title of that article. Baptism in the Holy Spirit (In-Depth Study)]
The Bible promises over and over again that once we are saved the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us.
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
“the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17)
So since the Lord Jesus Christ paid a huge price to get His Spirit on the inside of us I think the least we can do is believe it.
Now I understand that sometimes spiritual concepts are difficult to believe so a way to make these verses real to you is by thanking Him for living on the inside of you as you go throughout your day and by taking the time to read over these verses consistently until believing them is automatic.
How do you know you have the presence of God?
You can know you have the presence of God when you understand that the Spirit of God lives on the inside of you. This can only happen through making a decision to follow Christ and believing in His resurrection.
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, the Spirit of God and the presence of God are one and the same because the Holy Spirit is God being present on the earth.
Because this is true, we can know that we have the presence of God with us because the Spirit of God is with us. If we do not have the Holy Spirit then His presence is not with us.
Note: This question is similar to the above section so I’ll refer you to that answer so that you can have a better understanding of this in case you haven’t read it yet.
I hoI hope this article assisted you in your walk with the Lord. If you enjoyed this article, please consider giving a donation of any amount by clicking the button below. The support we receive from you enables The Biblical Foundation to keep all of the resources free and to reach more people with the teachings of the Word of God.
