Often people think of the presence of the Lord as some mystical event that seems to occur randomly at the whim of the Lord. The truth is that there are things which a person and a church can do which will cause the presence of the Lord to manifest itself. The Bible instructs us on what can be done so that the Lord’s presence manifests itself.
One essential step that believers must take in order for the presence of the Lord to manifest is to pray with the proper attitude. II Chronicles 7:14 gives us some basic principles for prayer that will cause the Spirit of God to move. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” We see from
II Chronicles 7:14 that successful prayer requires; humbling ourselves before the Lord, praying to the Lord and seeking His face and not just for a solution to a problem.
To seek the face of the Lord really means to seek His presence. The person seeking the face of the Lord is not just asking the Lord to just answer a prayer, provide an answer or fix a problem, but is also looking for the presence of the Lord.
The dedication of the temple of Solomon gives us another example of proper steps to be taken so that the Spirit of the Lord manifests itself in II Chronicles 5:11-14. The passage tells us that when the priests had brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Holy of Holies and then the priests and Levites praised the Lord in one accord, the Spirit of the Lord came in so strong that the priests could not stand to minister.
The Ark of the Covenant represented the physical presence of God among his people. Only the Levites were allowed to carry the Ark. The temple of Solomon was a temple built according to God’s divine plan and in the place which God had specified. The Bible is showing us that when we place the Lord in the proper place, in the proper way and praise him in unity, His presence will show up.
Let us start to seek the face of the Lord according to his due order so that the souls of men and women will come to know the Lord Jesus. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled (Matt 5:6).
