In our epistle we hear: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” When I was a child in Sunday School, we often had to answer the roll call with a Bible verse, sometimes in alphabetical order. This verse was one of my favorite “D” verses because it was short and easy to remember. That was what was important to me in those days. I had not yet come to realize the truth of the words. Today it rings with promise.

On the surface, the verse seems to imply that, if we don’t draw near to God, God won’t draw near to; us. But we somehow know deep in our hearts that God is always near us, even when we are unaware of the Holy Presence—nearer than our very breath, enfolding us in Love, indwelling us with the life-giving grace of the Holy Spirit. What this verse says to me is that, if we want to experience the presence of God in our lives, we need to dispose ourselves to recognize it. That entails spending time with God, focusing on our relationship with God, paying attention to how we see God working in our lives, expressing our gratitude with praise and thanksgiving for all the blessings showered upon us day by day. How we go about doing that is different for each of us. There is no one single way to draw near to God.

The “Try it—You’ll Like It” column on Spiritual Practices in the Bay View (Trinity’s monthly newsletter) has, over the past couple of years, provided a host of ways that folks have found to be helpful in their efforts to draw near to God. While Martha Beck doesn’t emphasize this particular aspect in The Joy Diet currently being studied by one of Trinity’s Adult Education classes, the practices she describes can be used to draw one near to God as well. If it’s our intent to use the practices to enable us to draw near to God, God will indeed draw near. Our awareness of Presence will be quickened. On the other hand, if one’s intent is merely to use the “10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life” as Beck’s sub-title suggests, God will honor that intent as well. Intention is important if we want to experience the reality of God’s presence.