Psalm 51:11 [ RSV  NASB  NIV] . Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.

The Presence of the Lord in our lives are one of the single most important attributes in our lives. We cannot live without the Presence of the Lord. The Bible says in Psalm 140:13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence (before your very face). The Presence of the Lord is so important, and yet few Believers know what the Presence of God really means. There are three dimensions of the Presence of the Lord we will look at:

1. God is Omni-Present
God is everywhere at all times! Nothing escapes His eyes. There is no secrets and no surprises to Him. Everything done in secret He can and will reveal someday! Isaiah 6:3 . . .the whole earth is full of His glory. David said in Psalm 139: 7 Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence? He goes on to say that there is no place he can hide! From the more remote place on earth to hell itself, from the Throne-room in heaven to the deepest jungle and beyond God is there! Jonah tried to run from the presence of the Lord, and even in the belly of the fish he cried out to the Lord and his prayer was answered.

What does this mean in the life of the Believer? You are NEVER alone! God is with you no matter where life may take you. The Omni-Presence of God is the Believers security! You are safe in the hands of God, regardless where you are.

2. Indwelling Presence
God lives in you! This is a mystery. A great God living in frail people. In John 15:4, 5 we read: Dwell in Me and I will dwell in you . . . whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. God is actively working in you. 1 Corinthians 3:16 says: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you? The Lord is shaping our lifestyles with every passing minute.

What does this mean to the Believer? God’s indwelling presence is our Lifeline! Without Him we are nothing. We are completely dependent on Him every day. Through His indwelling presence He shapes our character and deposits the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us (Galatians 5:22) The gifts of the Holy Spirit operates through us as a result of His indwelling presence.

3. His Manifest Presence
God’s Manifest presence is a special anointing for a special task at a specific time. It is temporal in nature. His power will flow in a meeting, touching the lives of people, healing many and delivering others from the power of the enemy. During the dedication of the temple we read in 2 Chronicles 5:13, 14 . . . then the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. In Acts 9:3,4 we read of Saul’s encounter with the manifest presence of the Lord that changed even his name! As he traveled on he came near to Damascus and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him and he fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice saying to him: Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me? When Jesus prayed on the mountain he was transfigured as the manifest presence came down. (Luke 9:29)

The manifest Presence of God is the Believer’s Jump-start! It is the “goose-flesh” experiences that change our lives in the presence of the Lord. Think of the day of salvation or when God healed you, or when revival touched your life. It is real, it is powerful, but temporal! That anointing lifts from you. It comes and goes. Too many Christians want to live in this realm permanently! Remember your Lifeline is His indwelling presence! You live your life within that realm. When God manifests His presence it is to give you a much-needed jumpstart into the right direction. The manifest presence is for desperate and immediate needs to be met.