When I was 20 years old, on this same day March 4, 2002, a tragedy struck our family. Our house was robbed, my mother was killed, and my sister barely survived. The irony of it all was that my father was a policeman in our town - someone sworn to protect others, yet he could not shield his own family from harm because he was on duty serving our town. While me, I was 8 hours drive away from my family then.
Just two days after my mother’s burial, I stood in the seminary hall for our graduation, where we were to be vested by the Bishop for full-time ministry after 4 fours years of training. I cannot recall what the Bishop preached that day as my mind was consumed with questions: Had God abandoned our family? Was He still present with us?
That season of my life forced me to wrestle with one of the attributes of God - His omnipresence. How near is God, yet how far is God? When tragedy strikes, is He close enough to comfort us, or so distant that He remains untouched by our pain?
There are many verses that speak to this tension, but one of the most profound and well-known is from Matthew 6:9 “Our Father, who art in heaven...”
These two phrases reveal two profound aspects of how we perceive God. The first phrase, “Our Father” speaks of God’s immanence - His nearness, love, and personal involvement in our lives. The second phrase, “who art in heaven” points to His transcendence - His sovereignty, majesty, and existence beyond our full understanding.
It is important to recognize that these two are not attributes of God, but rather our ways of perceiving Him. God’s true attribute is His omnipresence - He is fully present everywhere, at all times, in all circumstances. It is our limited human experience that causes us to sometimes sense His nearness and, at other times, He is seemingly distant. Yet, whether we feel Him or not, He is always present.
Dr. Albert Edward Day, a Methodist pastor from Ohio in early 19th century, once said:
"God is not real to most of us because of the condition of our consciousness. He is closer to our minds every moment than our feelings. He is nearer to our hearts than our own feelings. He is more intimate with our wills than our most vigorous decisions.”This means that while God is always present, we often fail to recognise Him. This suggests that our awareness, distractions, death, poverty, conflicts, wars, spiritual dullness, and many more - often obscure our experience of God. In the same way, God is not dependent on our emotions and our experiences. Even when we feel distant from Him, He remains present. Even our choices and decisions are under His sovereign influence. This reflects the mystery of God’s work within us even when we do not perceive him.
This is why prayer is essential as prayer tunes our hearts to perceive His presence.
However, in seeking to understand God's presence, we must be careful not to overemphasise either His immanence or His transcendence at the expense of the other. An unbalanced view of God can distort our faith and our relationship with Him:
Unbalanced view of God’s presence
If God were only immanent, He would be near but powerless.
- A God who is only close, like a well-meaning friend, might comfort us but would lack the power to change our circumstances.
- He could walk with us in suffering but would be unable to bring redemption, hope and judgement.
In the same way, if God were only transcendent, He would be powerful but distant.
- A God who is only exalted and sovereign might have all power but would seem detached and unconcerned with our struggles.
- Without His nearness, we would not know His love or find comfort in His presence.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta, who dedicated her life to serving the poorest of the poor, understood this tension well. She once said, “If we are not careful, we will only see the suffering and not the One who shares in it.” She believed that God is both near - walking among the suffering - and powerful enough to bring hope and redemption even in the darkest places.
So when we pray, we must hold both truths together. We come before a God who is close enough to hear our cries and powerful and victorious enough to act. We approach Him as our Father, who loves us, and as the King, who reigns over all the universe. So how do we approach God as an immanent God and transcendent God?
First, we approach God as Our Father (Immanence)
When we pray, we often start with the recognition that God is near - He is Our Father. This aspect of God's nature invites us into intimacy. We are not approaching a distant deity, but a God who loves us, who understands our struggles, and who desires to walk with us in every moment of our lives.
In light of God's immanence, our prayers should reflect a deep sense of relationship. We can come to Him with the freedom of a child approaching a loving parent. We don’t need to be afraid or overly formal. Instead, we can speak openly about our joys, sorrows, fears, and desires, knowing that God listens. In prayer, we bring our full selves that includes our needs, even our doubts and even our questions in life - because He is close enough to care for every detail of our lives.
This means we can pray with confidence, not because we’ve earned the right, but because God has made Himself available to us through Jesus Christ, our mediator. We don’t need to approach with hesitation or distance; instead, we come with boldness, because he is always near
Second, we approach God as the One Who Art in Heaven (Transcendence)
When we pray, we must also remember that God is not just near; but He is high and lifted up. He is the One who reigns from heaven, the Creator of the universe, the Sovereign King. His power and majesty should inspire in us a deep sense of awe and reverence.
In light of God's transcendence, our prayers should reflect humility. We approach God not just as a friend but as the Almighty, whose ways are higher than our ways and whose thoughts are beyond our understanding. So when we pray, we are entering into the presence of the One who holds all things in His hands - and therefore, His greatness demands our respect.
This does not mean that we should be fearful of approaching Him, but it does mean that we approach him with awe. He is also far beyond us. After all, we are praying to the God who commands the heavens and the earth.
In summary, if God is both infinitely transcendent and intimately immanent, we should pray:
- With Reverence - Because He is transcendent, we approach Him with awe. He is the King of Kings.
- With Confidence - Because He is immanent, we pray as children coming to their loving Father.
- With Awareness - Because He is omnipresent, we do not need to seek Him in a particular place because He is already with us.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, You are only not high above us in majesty but also closer to us than our own breath. ThankYou for being a God who reigns in power and yet walks with us in love. We pray that you would open our hearts to be aware of Your presence, to trust in Your sovereignty, and to rest in Your nearness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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