Prayer makes sense only if it is a tangible expression of confidence in God’s immediate presence to us.

How does the invisible God help us to apprehend Him in faith, so that our hearts are reassured He is with us and cares for us? We want to pray in love, faith and humble obedience, not wavering doubt, but how can we when it seems all we are doing is voicing personal desires or thoughts about God? Heart-felt, faith-filled, humble prayer in itself is a key to answering these questions.

God is omnipresent. He is everywhere at the same time, and one of the ways He manifests His omnipresence to us is through our prayers.

The Scripture provides abundant evidence for this, but so does a clear understanding of the difference in nature between the Creator and the created. No human being (deceased or otherwise), angel, or demon is everywhere at the same time. Only God, our Creator, is omnipresent. If you or I have thoughts of our deceased parents or grandparents, or want to say something to them, we cannot contact them directly.  They are in a place far removed from us, and we cannot reach them by memories, thoughts, or “prayers.”  The same is true of the saints, and the mother of Jesus.

The only invisible person we can be confident knows our thoughts and innermost desires, that hears our words, and feels our love is God Himself. When the Bible speaks of God drawing near in our prayers, it is plainly saying that as we pray, an assurance arises in our hearts, or peace settles over our minds in the firm belief that He is indeed present, and attending to our concerns.

So, let us rely on God’s ever-present Spirit, crafting words of faith for our prayers, turning from sin and relying fully on Jesus’s blood and righteousness.  We then have every reason to believe that God is hearing our prayers and the prayer itself becomes evidence He is here.

The Psalmist declares that God inhabits the praises of his people. He also speaks of God holding their tears in his bottle. His word says that he never forsakes us and leaves us. And even if I don’t have a spoken prayer but a groaning in my spirit, even then God is drawing here. Praise the Lord!

“Lord Jesus, thank you for being here this morning in answer to prayer.  Thank you that this walk of prayer reminds me that you are here with me.  Oh my soul, take your rest in the ever-present God!”

Key references for further study on prayer giving evidence of God’s presence: Psalm 56:8-13; 139:7-10; John 15:5,12-17; Romans 8:26-27; 1 Peter 5:6-7; James 1:5-8; 4:2-3, 6-7

Key references for further study on God’s omnipresence: Job 34:21; Psalm 32:8; 113:4-6; 139:3,5, 7-10; Proverbs 15:3; 1 Kings 8:27; Isaiah 57:15; 66:1; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Matthew 6:6; 18:20; Acts 17:24, 27; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 4:12