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In Psalm 139:7 – 10 the Psalmist states, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

And in Jeremiah 23:23 – 24 God says, “Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.

So we know that God is everywhere—there is no place in heaven and on earth where He is not present. However, we do see examples in scripture of special manifestations of God’s presence, such as at the dedication of the temple in 2 Chronicles 7:1 – 3, or Elijah after he had battled the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 19:11 – 13.

Sometimes the presence of God departs from His people, or seems to be absent, as we read in 1 Samuel 3:1 and Psalm 22:1-2. He does this for various reasons: sometimes it is testing for our purification, sometimes it is to make us hunger for Him, to make us realise and repent of our sins, or to accomplish His specific purposes.

God is everywhere. God can manifest himself in an infinite variety of ways—some of them very spectacular and some as soft as a gentle whisper. We also know of seasons in the life of God’s people when God was silent—even Jesus himself was temporarily forsaken by the Father for His greater purposes.

Given all this background, how then can we experience the supernatural presence of God? There are not any ‘formulas’ to follow per se. But here’s what I try to do myself: first, I try to approach my times with God—whether private or corporate experiences—with a desire and expectancy that God is present and that He will speak to me in some way. I try to remember that God may occasionally break through with a startling manifestation of His presence, He may be silent at any given moment, or He may speak to me through a gentle whisper, nudge, or sense of something He is doing or saying.

I also try to develop the discipline of stillness and listening—and this is one of the hardest parts of my faith walk with Jesus. If you’re like me, your mind is often racing on to something else—even in the midst of your daily devotions. To help with this problem, I try to set aside enough time not to be rushed, and also be in a place as free of distractions as possible.

And I also deliberately try to ask God a few questions—and then I try to be still and listen. I ask God to speak to me through His word; I record what I sense him saying in my journal. I also ask God, “Where have I departed from you, Lord?” “Where am I sinning right now?” When I do hear from Him, I also ask him to give me the desire and courage to forsake those sinful attitudes or behaviors and turn back to Him wholeheartedly.

Finally I would commend you for seeking God’s presence. Read Psalm 84. The Psalmist is longing to meet with God, and that is a longing that comes from God and leads us to God! Cry out to Him like the Psalmist. And share this hunger of yours with some brothers and sisters. Ask them to pray for you in this. Your hunger for God will make them hungry as well. You are commanded to love God “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30, ESV).

The heart and soul is the seat of our emotions, and there truly is an emotional component to our relationship with God. So if there are dry seasons where you feel forsaken by God and don’t sense His presence with you, don’t go it alone! That’s what your church family is for. Ask for their prayers and encouragement. They will walk beside you, and you will experience what God promises in Acts 3:19: “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”