The secret of success, victory and unusual exploits that anointed servants of God’s achievement lies in the fact that God’s presence is always with them. Do you want to overcome great problems? Do you want to fulfill your divine destiny? You need the power of His presence.
This eye-opening message tells us how we can have God’s abiding presence and the innumerable benefits it brings. Read it carefully and pray the prayer points that accompanied it with holy aggression. Expect great results!
Exodus 33:13-15: Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. [14] And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. [15] And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
This was Moses asking God to go on the journey with him. I would like us to read this message with rapt attention and hold it securely in your hands throughout this year.
Moses did not ask for signs and wonders or miracles; he asked God to show him His way. God answered by saying that His presence shall go with him.
Many Christians are completely ignorant of the presence of God. Many ministers and pastors know nothing about the power of the presence of God. Anyone who has not experienced the power of God’s presence has no right to stand and talk about Him because such people don’t know Him.
Having the presence of God with us is worth more than riches or fame or power. We can go anywhere when the presence of God is with us. I can go to many places because His presence is with me. I don’t care what direction it is, if the presence of God is there. A sleep is dangerous when the presence of God is absent. In the presence of God, there is fullness of joy but out of His presence, there is frustration, multiple demons, discouragement, sorrow, fear, sickness, sin, suicide, distress, etc.
The question I would like to ask us is this: Do we have the presence of God with us? Or have we lost His presence? More than anything else this year, ensure that you have His presence with you always.
Psalm 51:11: Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
This is a powerful prayer. The Psalmist is trying to say that if God wants to take every other thing from him, He can, but God should allow him to always be in His Presence. He says God should not be silent about his matter; even if He wants to discipline him, He can but He should please not remove His Presence from Him.
We need to have the presence of the Lord in our lives; it is a wonderful experience. It is essential in our everyday life.
Moses had several problems with the children of Israel; often they would have stoned him to death then he would remember God’s promise: “My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest.”
That is, you can have trouble everywhere, fears, threatening outside. Since you have prayed and you know that the secret of knowing the Lord is being in His presence, nothing will dismay you.
The closer you are to fire, the hotter you become; the farther you move away from fire, the cooler you become. The closer you move to the Lord, the more of His presence you have; the farther you move away from Him, the closer you are to the devil. It is a wonderful thing to be in the presence of the Lord and it is a dangerous thing to be far from Him.
Woe betides the person who moves away from the presence of the Almighty God! When God vomits a person, the person’s enemy will deal ruthlessly with the person. This is a very serious issue and I would advise that you pray the presence of God into your life today.
Genesis 4:16: And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
Genesis 4:13: And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
It is a great punishment to be out of God’s presence. It is good to pray that you will not undergo this kind of punishment. Being struck dead by lightning is better than to undergo this kind of punishment. Falling on a person is better for mountains and rocks than to undergo this kind of punishment. Losing a leg and hand is also better for a person or eye, than to go through it. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and he allowed envy to push him out of the place of blessing - from the Presence of the Lord.
Genesis 3:8: And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
The Lord God used to go into the garden, in the evenings, to have fellowship with Adam and Eve but when they sinned against Him, they could no longer behold His face. They had to hide from His presence. They used to live well but sin broke their relationship with God. They were pushed out of the garden, from the presence of the Lord because they disobeyed God and refused to put the blame where it belonged.
One thing that is common these days in the midst of Christians is the fact they put blames on others when things go wrong.
Beloved, if you go wrong, it is you that you should be blamed, not the church or your wife or husband or parents, not even the devil should be blamed for your mistakes but yourself.
People say it is the devil that pushed them to do one thing or the other, they forget that it is the job of the devil to steal, kill and destroy; he does it effectively when he is given the chance. You are to stay at your own post and do your job well.
When you find yourself in error, repent, cry unto the Lord and repair the relationship between you and Him so that God can reestablish the relationship, and you will be in His Presence again.
Jonah went out of the presence of God and he paid dearly for it. All men and women, who have ever made progress in the Lord had at one time or the other had an encounter with Him. No other thing should be important if you have not seen the Lord. Groom up your spiritual life and have an encounter with Him. Drop any other thing that will hinder you from seeing the Lord. If you had no encounter with Him, and all that should die are still alive in you, you have not started.
Moses got to a point where he wanted to see God. He saw just the backside and the glory of God shone upon Him and when he got back to the Israelites, they could not behold his face. It glowed and they had to put a veil on his face. When you see the Lord and have His presence with you, no demon or witchcraft power can harm you. You need to pray to the point of having an encounter with the Lord so that His presence will always be with you.
When you see the Lord and are continually in His presence, you will not be bothered about the world or what people say about you or do to you.
Isaiah, Jacob, Moses, etc., encountered the Lord and their lives never remained the same. When you have His presence around you, no power of darkness can stand before you.
HOW TO EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF HIS PRESENCE
1. Do not joke with your quiet time.
You must plan to have a quiet time with the Lord daily and regularly, it is the time when you will pray meaningfully, study and memorise the word of God diligently. The Bible says that Daniel prayed three times a day. You too can. You can however choose the very early hours of the morning when every where is quiet. You must plan to follow. You should also decree the word of God throughout the day from time to time.
2. Do not neglect the fellowship of the saints.
Do not be the Christian who misses services. Do not make this year a year when you only attend church services when there are special programmes. Have a consistent attendance of God’s fellowship.
3. Always hunger and thirst for God.
Live a clean and yielded life and always seek the things of the Lord. God is by your side; there is no distance between you and Him and He is always ready to listen to you and hear your pleas. Worship Him in spirit and in truth; go before Him the way He wants you to.
4. Follow a consistent programme of prayer.
5. Learn to be intimate with the Holy Spirit.
Treat Him as a Person reverently, not as a thing. Learn to meet Him and commune with Him every day.
6. Pray that He should show you His way.
When the fire of God’s presence is with you, it will melt away every wickedness around you, the way a flame will melt a candle. The little time you spend in His presence, and when His presence is upon you, will clear away every confusion from your mind. No matter how confused and confusing a situation is, the presence of God will bring order into that situation. As Christians, we should carry His fire about anywhere we go.
The Jews wanted to stone Jesus and He asked them why. They said it was because He was equating Himself with God. He then asked If they had not read the scriptures, where it is said that: “I say ye are Gods?”
None of them could answer. We are supposed to be little Jesus wherever we are, carrying the fire of God about. When you have the fire of God in your life, your presence in a particular situation can make the difference. God can command a situation to change, just because of a child of His.
I am proposing some prayer point to you now, which I would advise that you pray with all your heart, so that the reading of this message will be meaningful. As you pray them, the power of God will move in your life in an awesome manner. Pray them with concentration and with determination to feel the presence of God in your life.
ONE THING YOU MUST DO
However, beloved, if you have not yet surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus, the prayers might not make a difference to you, whereas, I would like you to benefit from them. If you are ready, right there where you are, I want you to go before the Lord and acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner. Ask Him to forgive you your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Name them one after the other and tell Him that you will never go back to them again. Claim the redemptive power in the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross at Calvary because of your sins. Promise Him that you will never go back to the world anymore.
I congratulate you on this decision that you have just taken. I pray that it shall be permanent in your live. I pray that the Lord will uphold you with His right hand of righteousness. He will not allow you to fall but stand steadfast in His word. I pray that you will have a personal encounter with the Lord and I assure you that you will never be the same again.
Now, I want you to begin to soak the whole of this year in the blood of Jesus. Declare that no weapon that enemy has formed against you shall prosper and any power that does not want you to have peace this year, shall be buried today and God shall restore all your breakthroughs that the enemy has stolen away from you to you. There shall be a complete overthrow and any power that does not want you to move forward shall be arrested and summarily dealt with.
Today, you have a wonderful opportunity before the Lord. Cry unto Him wholeheartedly and He will answer and do great and mighty things in your life. First, ask Him to cleanse you from every filthiness that could cause a hindrance to the answers to your prayers.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Every evil hand pointed at my destiny this year, wither by fire and die, in the name of Jesus.
2. My father, show me Your way, in the name of Jesus.
3. Angels of breakthroughs, encamp around me, in the name of Jesus.
4. Thou Power of signs and wonders, overshadow my life, in the name of Jesus.
5. Every agenda of the wasters for my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
6. My blood, reject the arrow of death, in the name of Jesus
7. My virtues, depart from the valley of the enemy, in the name of Jesus.
8. Thou power of marine witchcraft, die, in the name of Jesus.
9. Every darkness in my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
10. O camp of my enemies, receive confusion, in the name of Jesus.
