As believers, we’ve taken the simplicity out of prayer. We’ve taken something so foundational, and we’ve created a culture of praying in a specific way using specific language. And I almost feel like the result has created distance in our relationship with God, instead of intimacy. We feel like we must put on our perfect face in order to face the One who knows everything about us. We feel like we have to speak in a tone of thanksgiving, even if we don’t feel thankful. And I get it. We should thank God for the mountains that He has moved in our lives, but we have to remember why we even pray in the first place.
Prayer is simply talking with God.
We pray because we have a desire to commune with our Creator, because we want to go deeper in our relationship with Him. We were created for this. In the beginning, God created us in His image; we were created to manifest His glory in the earth.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26 NKJV)
We weren’t created so that we could live independently from God; His original plan was for us to dwell in His presence continually. We see this when we read about what happened after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden.
And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8 NKJV)
In this scripture, we can see that it was common for God to walk around in the garden, because Adam and Eve knew His presence so well, that they recognized the sound of Him coming near. This was God’s will for them. His intention was for them to live in this beautiful garden, surrounded by His presence, but their decision to listen to the serpent caused a separation to occur.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24 NKJV)
The enemy’s goal is to separate us from God.
This was Satan’s goal in the garden. He knew that if Adam and Eve obeyed God, they would live the life that God planned for them. But the enemy also knew that if he could get them to disobey God, they would experience the death that comes with being separated from God.
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV)
Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, we live in a world that is separated from God. This is our nature. This is why in our flesh, we don’t want to pray…and do the things that God has given us to do. But through the blood of Jesus, that curse of sin has been broken off of us. We have been reconciled back to God.
So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22 NLT)
What does this mean for us? This means that we don’t have to suffer the consequences of a life without God. This means that we don’t have to live outside the garden, as Adam and Eve did. We have the opportunity to be where they should have been…in the presence of God, continually. But, actually living out this life depends on us.
Psalms 91 tells us that as children of God, protection, favor, and blessing are available to us. But we must know that we do not experience these benefits automatically. And this is because God requires something from us first. He requires that we choose Him. This is the same requirement that He had for Adam and Eve. He asked them to choose Him over their desires, and they made their choice. Now we must make ours. We must decide, daily…will we choose God, and receive the benefits that come with a relationship with Him. Or will we choose to live according to our flesh, and forfeit the protection, favor, and blessings that are available to us, as children of God? We can’t have it both ways…God’s response to Adam and Eve is proof of that.
So how do we choose God?
Psalms 91 doesn’t just tell us about the benefits of a relationship with God, it reveals to us the secret to these benefits manifesting in our lives.
We receive the benefits of a relationship with God when we dwell in His presence.
To dwell in a place means to remain in a place. To dwell on something means to keep one’s attention focused on that thing. So, when we dwell with God, we are remaining with Him, and we are keeping our attention focused on Him. As we read through parts of Psalms 91, I hope you will see a theme.
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. (Psalms 91:1-2 NLT)
The King James Version says it like this, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” We have to understand that this is a choice. We can choose to live, or dwell, with God. Or we can choose to go our own way. But this scripture makes clear that our decision to stay in His presence is what gives us the ability to rest in the safety that He provides for His children.
If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. (Psalms 91:9-11 NLT)
Here, we see that God will order His angels to protect us wherever we go, only if we make the Lord our refuge…if we make Him our shelter.
The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” (Psalms 91:14-16 NLT)
God promises that when we call on Him, He will answer us. He promises that He will be with us in trouble, that He will rescue and honor us, that He will reward us with a long life and salvation. But, it says that these are the benefits for those that love Him, and trust in His name. We have to understand that walking with Him, and choosing to dwell with Him, is key to receiving the life that He has for us.
What does this look like in our lives?
Earlier, we talked about prayer. We talked about how foundational it is to our relationship with God. But what I want us to understand is that God never intended for prayer to be formal or ritualistic. All He wants is for us to talk to Him…continually. It doesn’t matter where we are; it doesn’t matter what we are doing…He just wants to hear our voice, and He wants us to be used to hearing His. As I said earlier, prayer is simply communing with God. And communing is a two-way street. This mean that the goal isn’t just for us to unload on God; the goal is for us to see what He has to say about it. The goal is that we dwell with Him long enough to hear his response, and what He has to say about the circumstances of our lives. This is where we find life. This is where we find healing. This is the environment where He renews our strength, and enables us to wait for the things that He has spoken over us.
God wants to hear it all.
He knows it all anyways. There is nothing hidden from Him. So, we must understand that the purpose of communicating with God has nothing to do with notifying Him of our grievances, because He already knows everything that we have to say.
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. (Psalms 139:1-5 NLT)
Our Father just loves to hear our voice. He loves when we desire more of Him, and He loves to spend time with us.
Dwelling with God deepens our relationship with, and understanding of, God.
This is what God wants…to spend time with us. He wants intimacy—closeness. Just think about any other relationship in your life. How did you cultivate that relationship? How did you deepen your bond? It was through spending time with that person. It was by getting up close and personal with them. It was by letting down your guard, and allowing them to see who you really are. This is what God wants in His relationship with you. He already knows the real you…but He wants you to know that you can be the real you with Him. I think that this may be the number one reason why people feel that they can’t dwell with God. They fear that maybe they aren’t worthy, or deserving of Him. But I want to remind all of us that God chose us knowing who we would become. It doesn’t matter where we are, or what we have done, none of that disqualifies us from dwelling with Him, and being used by Him. The life of the apostle Paul is proof of this. He was a murderer, devoted to killing followers of Christ, when Jesus interrupted his plans, and chose him.
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts of the Apostles 9:1-6 NLT)
If God can redeem and use the life of someone like Paul, surely, He will do the same for you. The question is will you let Him? The question is will you dwell with Him long enough for Him to work in you and through you?
How can we dwell with God?
Dwelling with God isn’t just taking the time to sit down and talk to him. Dwelling with Him means conversing with Him throughout the day. It means conversing with Him as you wake up in the morning and get dressed. It means thanking Him for the things that you are grateful for, but also expressing your disappointments. It means talking to Him about your feelings…whatever they are. Are you worried or anxious? Take those feeling to your heavenly Father, and allow Him to give you peace in that moment.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)
When we dwell with God continually, we can experience His peace continually.
If there is anyone in the bible that I could use to illustrate what it looks like to dwell with God, it would be David. The bible says that he was a man after God’s own heart.
But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:14 NLT)
David was not perfect. In fact, He made some very serious mistakes. But, nevertheless, he always found a way back to the presence of God. David never allowed his circumstances, shortcomings, or his success, to take him away from the presence of God. Even when his sinned cause the death of his son, he found himself right back at the Father’s feet.
When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate. (2 Samuel 12:19-20 NLT)
Whatever David was going through, wherever he was in life, he dwelled in the presence of God. We can see evidence of this as we read through the Psalms that he wrote. In some of them, he is praising the Lord with all his heart, and in the next moment, he is pleading with the Lord for help.
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. (Psalms 9:1-2 NLT)
Lord, have mercy on me. See how my enemies torment me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death. Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates, so I can rejoice that you have rescued me. (Psalms 9:13-14 NLT)
In others, David expresses disappointment over unanswered prayers, and that he feels forgotten by God.
O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? (Psalms 13:1-2 NLT)
And we also see that when faced with his sin, David turns to God, repents, and then asks for God to restore him.
Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. (Psalms 51:1 NLT)
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. (Psalms 51:12-13 NLT)
David allowed God into every area of his heart and life. He let down every guard, and made himself available to God fully, over and over again. And this is what God wants from us. He wants us to allow Him in. He wants to hear about our hopes and dreams. He wants us to bring Him our fears and disappointments. He wants us to come to him when we feel alone. The more we bring to Him, the more areas He can touch. These are areas that He can heal and transform, and these are ways that He can use us. This was David’s prayer in Psalms 51. He asked for God’s salvation, so that he could teach others. This was his heart…a heart cultivated by dwelling with Him.
When we dwell with God, He cultivates us.
This is the environment where God can take our weaknesses and get glory out of them. This is why we give our burdens to the Lord. Scriptures tells us that when we are weak, we are strong. But that can only be true when we dwell with Him. Because when we dwell with Him, He has the opportunity to speak purpose into our lives, and He has the space to enable us to carry that purpose out.
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NLT)
According to this scripture, there is more inside of you than you can imagine. And if you will dwell with Him, His Spirit will reveal those things to you. He wants you to know who He has called you to be, and He wants to empower you to be that person. It doesn’t matter where you are in life, it doesn’t matter what you have done. Just like Paul, He calls you just as you are. He accepts you just the way you are, because He knows that He can use everything, the good and the bad, to get the glory out of your life. So let Him. Make the decision today to stop running from the One that holds your destiny. Choose today to stop pushing away the One that chose you knowing everything you would ever do. And choose to remain with Him instead. Choose to dwell with Him instead. In His presence, everything changes. There is nothing that is impossible in the presence of our God.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son to die on a cross for me. Thank you for loving me enough to sacrifice Him, so that I can dwell with you. Today, I have been reminded that all you want is to spend time with me…to cultivate a deeper relationship with me. And that is all that I want. I want to grow in my understanding of you, and I want to grow in my understanding of who you have called me to be. But I know that this can only be accomplished in your presence. Because in your presence, everything changes. Today, by faith, I am making the decision to dwell with you. I am making the decision to let down all guards, so that I can make myself available to you. And I pray that you will help me in this. I need your strength. I need you to remind me that you already chose me before I was in my mother’s womb, and that even with the foresight of my life, you decided that I am worth waiting for. So thank you for waiting on me Father. Thank you for pursuing me. And thank you for your grace, that enables me to be used by you. I know that as I dwell in your presence, you are healing me, transforming me, and molding me into who you have called me to be. I know that nothing is impossible for you, and that you will get the glory out of my life. I love you Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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