The Manifest Presence of God

"Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven...and the glory of the LORD filled the house. 2 And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house. 3 And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground...and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever" (2 Chron. 7:1-3).

In Psalm 63 we read that David thirsted for God as one would thirst for water in a dry and thirsty land. He desperately wanted to see the power and glory of God because he had seen it before and was so deeply satisfied. But the glory of God not only brought him great satisfaction it produced at the same time a greater hunger and longing for God.

Notice also that in 2 Chron. 7:1-3 we read that David's son Solomon, after the temple was built, dedicated it unto the Lord in prayer. And after He prayed the fire of God came down from heaven and the glory of God filled the temple. There was such an awesome manifestation of the presence of God that when the children of Israel saw it they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground and began to worship and praise the Lord. Oh how the church today needs such an encounter with the manifest presence of God. In 1 Cor. 14 Paul wrote, "But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: 25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth" (1 Cor. 14:24-25). In these scriptures Paul teaches that when the gifts of the Spirit of God like prophesy (speaking forth God's word) are genuinely in operation in the church others will see it as a manifestation of the presence of God and they will also fall down on their face and worship God.

Paul also wrote, "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:4-5). What Paul is saying here is that when He preached there was a supernatural manifestation of God's power that had nothing to do with his eloquence or his own wisdom. And it was this manifestation of God in His preaching that made the difference in others producing in them faith in God. I believe that the manifest presence and power of God is absent in the church. Oh the church has programs, preaching, and praise songs but where is the manifests presence of God the cause’s people to fall on their faces in worship before God? As long as we are content to go on without it we will never see it. But if we would long to see God's glory and power as David long to see it and pray for the fire of Heaven to fall upon our churches God might very well just do it. Let us pray and not cease unto we can truly say, "Surely the presence of the Lord is in our midst."