The Presence of God in Worship—What Many of Us Miss
My hope is to further unpack the distinctions, overlap and mystery of God’s presence, while encouraging worship leaders and their congregations to further seek the presence of God in their gathered worship and individual lives.
Recently, I was at a church service where the pastor said, “We don’t ask you (God) to show up because we know that you’re already here.” While this statement is not false, I found it interesting that just minutes before, we sang a song inviting and asking for more of God’s presence.
This happens often in churches, where we will sing one thing and then nearly contradict that in another song or prayer. Both of the statements are theologically correct and simply need one more sentence that acknowledges the distinction, overlap and mystery of God’s presence.
Understanding that there are two types of God’s presence is just the beginning. The more that we know, the better we can seek his presence in our daily lives and in our corporate gatherings. To suggest that God is already present, and that all we need to do is become aware of his presence is often correct—but also a limiting statement.
Similarly, to suggest that we have to somehow coerce God to show up in our gathered worship can be erroneous. It is crucial that we understand more about God’s transcendent (omni) and immanent (manifest) presence. While there is much we cannot understand, there are clear Biblical truths around God’s presence that are necessary to know if we truly want our worship to be expectant and responsive.
Transcendent Presence
We know through Scripture that God is omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-8; Jer. 23:23-24). He is before all things, created all things, above all things and holds it all together. God’s presence is everywhere. There is nowhere we can go to escape the transcendent presence of God.
There are many great songs that acknowledge this aspect of God’s presence and celebrate the otherness of God. One of my favorite accounts of God’s transcendence is Matt Redman’s album and book Facedown. Facedown is a journey through acknowledging and responding to God’s transcendence, otherness and absolute glory.
We need songs and prayers that remind us that no matter where we go, or what we’ve done, God is present and in control. But God’s presence does not stop there. He is not simply a massive force that set the world in motion and now sits at a distance watching his creation. No, God is intimately involved with and wants to interact with his creation, which leads us to his immanence.
