How often are you aware of God's presence? The name "Emmanuel" means "God with us". God is on our side, rooting for us. God is also far closer to us than we realise.
In Jesus, God came to us in a very special way. Jesus became one of us and walked about among us. We call this 'the Incarnation' and this is what we celebrate in a big way over the season of Christmas.
After Jesus rose from the dead, before he ascended into Heaven, he said, "Behold I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)
Jesus is no longer on earth in human bodily form but he is very much with us in other ways (in spirit, in sacrament, and in all the Christians who make up 'the body of Christ' i.e. the Church). These other ways that Jesus is with us will be the subject of future posts on this blog.
Sometimes we find that certain environments help us feel God's presence more easily. We might sense God's presence more when we're in nature or in a church building or listening to Christian music. But God is with us at all times no matter what the environment.
A certain tradition over the centuries has made many of us think of God as 'up in the sky'. Some Christian traditions talk as if we need to summon God into the room through our worship. Both of these kinds of thinking deny the truth that God is already with us before we start to pray, and with us when we're not praying.
A little exercise I was once given to do involved waiting a minute or so before I began my prayer time. During this minute I was encouraged to simply pause and become aware of God's presence with me in the room. I was encouraged not to start praying or worshipping or reading until I had first given time to realising how close God was to me.
Wherever you are right now, try pausing for a full minute and letting it sink into you that God is with you. God is on your side, wanting the very best for you. God knows what's going on in your mind and in your heart at this moment in time. God's presence is filling the room you are in right now. God is with you in whatever situation you're in right now. God's love and joy and wisdom and peace and comfort are there with you as you read this.
How does it feel to pause to acknowledge 'God with you' like this? Does it make any difference to your prayer time or how you're feeling? Is pausing to acknowledge how close God is to you something you might do more often?
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Advent antiphon for 23rd Dec:
O Emmanuel, our King and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.