Read the following carefully: “GODISNOWHERE.” What did you see first: “God Is No Where” or “God Is Now Here?” If I were to arrange it in the following way what do you see: “NOwhere” or “NOWhere?” In Spanish there are three words to distinguish proximity: aqui (pronounced a-kee) = “here;” alli’ (pronounced a-yee)= “over there;” and “alla'” (pronounced a-yah) = “way over there.” Here, there, or way over there.

When I used to pray to God I imagined Him far removed – in outer space somewhere. He was distant, angry, and ready to pounce on anything I did wrong. I believed that He was swift in delivering punishment. Anything I was suffering was attributed towards something I had done wrong. I would try to recall what I had done to cause my suffering. When I met Him it was as if someone removed a veil, or pulled back layers of dark, insulated shades. In a flash of a moment I realized, “He is here.” As I experienced His Presence and Love I realized that He had already taken my punishment on the cross and wanted me to be with Him. It was quite the surprise when I realized that one of His Names is “Immanuel” = “the God Who is with us.” It was also a mystery to ponder the meaning to the formal Name of the Godhead: “Yahveh” = “I am, what I am.” (Or as Popeye would say, “I yam, what I yam.”) It wasn’t until later I realized God exists outside of the constraints of time. He is not limited by past, present or future. He simply is.

Much later in my walk I discovered the experiences of the prophets going to Heaven. I would imagine gathering around His Throne, often use the imagery when praying. Over time Immanuel, the God with us, returned to being the God out there, or way over there. But in His mercy brought me back to where He has always been through the apostle of prayer, T.W. Hunt. He recalled a time in his life when he had become disappointed with God regarding God’s call to teach missionaries rather than be a missionary. Adding injury to insult, they were struggling to pay their daughters’ tuition for school. The more they prayed the worse their finances got. Their daughter got into a minor accident in which their insurance was not able to cover all the hospital and doctor bills. Next she had to have a root canal which cost them more money than they had. Matters got much worse when the university began sending second notices regarding the overdue tuition. As the debts got heavier, their prayers became more fervent. T.W. became broken, not over his inability to pay the bills, but the strange delay in the answer to their prayers. He began reexamining every aspect of his relationship with the Lord and with others. One day when speaking to his wife he asked, “Why do you suppose God won’t let me be a missionary?” She answered, “Have you talked to Him lately about it?” T.W. responded that he didn’t want to talk to God about his being rebellious. She responded with something very profound, “Then maybe you should quit teaching in your seminars that He is a Friend, because you can talk to a friend!” He entered their prayer room that day and spoke to his Friend about why he found mission work so exciting. After an hour Jesus, his Friend, revealed why He needed teachers to equip the missionaries and that they were His helpers too. Following his prayer time, he received a letter from his daughter’s university stating, “This is to inform you that a friend [!] who wishes to remain anonymous has paid your daughter’s tuition for this semester.”

From T.W.’s example and many more I learned that I needed to practice Jesus being here – in the now. He challenged me with an exercise in practicing His Presence. In the exercise you set up a chair across from the one you plan to sit and pray. You prepare your favorite beverage or food, and place it in His chair. Then sitting across from Him, you imagine He is there, while you simply share the time with Him as your friend.

Throughout this week I have become conscious of my need to practice this throughout the day. I imagine Him sitting in the truck with me as I drive to church. I imagine Him being there when I am ministering to another. I imagine Him when I am praying, and meditating in the Word – and I talk with Him – as if He is right there. For you see – He is.

I read a gripping story of a godly old man whose days were coming to an end. A minister went to visit him in his hospital room and noticed an empty chair beside the man’s bed. He asked, “Have you had a visitor?” The man replied, “No, I haven’t had a visitor. But when I became a Christian as a youth, someone told me that praying was like talking to your very best friend. When I heard that, I decided to pull up an empty chair beside me every day and invite Christ to sit and talk with me. And I just finished my conversation with the Lord.”

After the man passed away, his daughter wrote of her visit to the hospital room. She said of her father:

“He seemed content, so I left him for a few hours. When I returned, I knew that he had gone to be with the Lord. But the interesting thing was that his head was not resting on his pillow. His body had turned and his head was resting on the seat of an empty hair that had been pulled up close to his bed.”