GodReflection: Talking with God.
In the last two posts on The One Who Knows the Most About Prayer, we saw eight principles shared by Jesus on how to converse with God. At the request of his disciples, he places the eight commands within the words of what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. However, what gives life to these instructions is the subject of today’s post—Holy Presence.
As I begin, I am drawn to the proclamation of the Prophet Habakkuk the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. Jesus lived in the light of that reality—the reality of Holy Presence. That is what he came to earth to announce. Our world with life divided between the secular and the Holy is an invention of modern mankind. It is never envisioned by Jesus who came to establish the Rule of Holy over all creation.
In the Gospels recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I find the exchanges between Jesus and God grounded deeply in Holy Presence. For Jesus, prayer with Father God is talking with God in Holy Presence. Holy God is present in the streets of the people, in the Temple, in solitary places of nature, and yes Holy Presence stands near Jesus when he hangs on a cross.
From the baby born in a stable, Jesus grew through childhood, adolescents, and into adulthood, in a home where God’s presence was real. Mary and Joseph were products of a Jewish home where daily Holy God was engaged with prayerful conversation and worship. Both had conversed with angels sent by God. They were familiar with Holy Presence. In honor and in recognition of God’s proximity, the couple raised their children in Holy Presence.
Sent by Father God and raised by Joseph and Mary, for Jesus’ ministry to begin with prayer is quite natural. It begins in Holy Presence. Luke describes it this way: When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). Father converses with son as the people look on.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, share four different occasions when Jesus seeks the solitude of a lonely place to be alone in Holy Presence to talk with Father God about joint concerns (Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12 and 9:29).
Luke describes what seems to be the intensity of one of those sessions when he writes, Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. None of the four accounts share content of Jesus’ prayer conversations with his Father God. Holy Presence seems to be the emphasis.
At the climax of Jesus’ mission, the three writers share circumstances that surround Jesus’ talk with God just prior to his death. This time we read only short sentences. The night before his death Jesus knows what will come his way as the sun rises. The cross does not catch him by surprise. The entirety of his life on earth has moved toward execution instigated by Jewish religious rulers. Jesus was fully aware of what took place on Roman crosses. More than ever to be in Holy Presence is vital. He must talk through his fears and his faith with God.
Luke paints the scene for his one sentence request, He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 
An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke 22:41-44).
The new day begins with betrayal by one of his closest associates of the past three years. His friends scatter. No one speaks on his behalf. During a rigged trial he is mocked, beaten, stripped naked, and finally nailed to a Roman cross. All he has left is enough. He has Holy Presence for his final talk with God prior to his death.
He summons sufficient breath throughout the ordeal to address Father God with one short request, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34), one cry of desperation, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34), followed by one final affirmation of total confidence, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:45).
May I submit that whatever the subject for conversation you and I bring to talk over with Holy God, it is Holy Presence that welcomes us and makes our visit possible. When the Temple curtain of Holy restriction ripped open from top to bottom at Jesus’ death, Holy Presence was released throughout our world to give you and me 24/7 access to talk with God and be confident of His Holy Presence.
What possible reason can anyone of us give for our failure to uphold our end of the conversation when Holy Presence is as near as the air that sustains us? Shouldn’t we all pay more attention to the Reality of Holy Presence?
Stay tuned.
Dr. Gary J. Sorrells
A GodReflection on The Reality of Holy Presence.
God Reflection 
YES! “…as near as the air that sustains us… ” Amén e amén!!!
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