In today’s church, God’s presence and glory are crucial; in fact, the need for God’s presence and glory cannot be over emphasised. Some churches are dried and dead. They are completely devoid of God’s presence and glory, as such their programmes are not saturated enough with God’s presence and glory. Some Christians are running dry of God’s presence and glory. We need the glory and presence of God more than anything now.

To carry God’ presence and glory, you have to purify yourself, deepen your consecration, increase your prayer life and deepen your intimacy with God. Moses in Exodus 34:29-35 contacted the glory of God through an encounter with God on the mountain. To be able to carry and increase in God’s presence and glory, one must draw very close to Him in prayer, in fellowship, in worship, in communion, in hearing His instructions and carrying them out.

Intimacy with God implies uninterrupted, unbroken and focused fellowship with God. The higher the intimacy, the higher the glory revealed. To increase the presence of God, we must remove sin from our lives by confessing our sins and bringing practical repentance to God. Sin is a big hindrance to increasing in God’s presence and glory. Sin removes God’s presence and glory from humanity. Sin takes away God’s presence from the church. All forms of sin like: bitterness, unforgiving spirit, ingratitude, immorality, dishonesty, rivalry, hatred, ungodly politics, pornography and disobedience, among others hinder God’s presence and glory.

No one living in sin can carry the glory and presence of God. We have to pursue deeper purity and higher consecration (1 Peter 1:13-16). Increasing God’s presence and glory requires deeper purity and deeper consecration to God devoid of contamination, filthiness, defilement and uncleanness.

To increase in God’s presence and glory in our lives, we must increase in our in-depth knowledge of the word of God. Carrying God’s presence and glory is not for the surface level Christians. It requires deeper search and deeper meditation on the engrafted word of God. The deeper we go in God’s word, the more of His glory we discover and manifest. The Psalmist said in Psalm 119:11, “thy word have I hidden in my heart, so that I may not sin against you.” Hatred for one another drives away God’s presence from the church. God is love and to carry His glory and presence, we must love one another and love like God.

We must exercise higher degree of faith to increase in God’s presence and glory.

The degree of our faith determines the degree of glory and presence that God reveals.
Worship draws down the presence of God in the Assembly of God’s people. We must engage in intense worship to draw down His glory and presence. The higher the intensity of worship, the higher the glory and presence released. God’s presence is often felt deeply in moments of true worship, as He “inhabits in the worship of His people” (Psalm 22:3).

In His presence, we experience peace, strength and renewal for our souls (Psalm 16:11). Worship brings revelation as we align our hearts with God’s will, often receiving direction. Learning how to soak in God’s presence through worship is one of the most valuable things we can do with our time.

• Today’s nugget: Deeper consecration releases divine presence

Prayer: Lord increase your presence and glory in my life. Prayer lines: 08033299824.E-mail: [email protected]. Rev. Abel UkachiAmadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria