A Prayer about the In Real Life Presence of God

Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:3

Ever-present God,

Our world has gone virtual, 

and we are starving for irl (in real life) experiences 

of people and places. 

Draw us to look forward to the day

when we will know your irl presence 

fully and forever. 

We await the day 

when we will never sense your absence again. 

We await the day 

when we fully comprehend the depths of the promise

that we are “in Christ,” 

“partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). 

We await the day 

when we will fall on our faces at the beauty of Christ’s face. 

We await the day of our homecoming, 

the day we truly see 

what the angel showed John 

in his vision of the new heavens and new earth, 

“Look! Look! 

God has moved into the neighborhood, 

making his home with men and women!”

Until that day comes, 

may we seek your face daily 

in your Word 

and prayer 

and fellowship 

and worship, 

because in these means of grace 

we find the joy of your presence. 

Read Exodus 26; Ephesians 1:7-13.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.