Living in the Presence of God
Published: Saturday November 01 2008.
I’m sure you have heard of the popular phrase “What would Jesus Do?” or the abbreviation, WWJD. This has been popularized by Protestant Churches through the use of bumper stickers and other media devices. If we convert that phrase to the Orthodox Christian point of view, we would instead say that we “Practice the Presence of God”. In either case, the point is that as we live our daily lives we should always ask Jesus to be with us no matter where we go and no matter what we do.
As you know, life is full of temptations and we are constantly fighting against the demons that want us to eat too much, stay out too late, drive too fast, etc. These are just examples of things that keep us away from God and drive us farther into habits that are self satisfying. The more technical word for this is narcissism. Those that replace God with “worshiping” themselves fall into this category. As we continue the path of self gratification we tend to leave behind the commandments God gave us so that we may work towards His Kingdom. What is the ultimate outcome? A life where one is never satisfied continues to seek gratification and eventually never has any hope for a future life beyond this world.
True Orthodox Christians always strive to have proper discernment. Discernment means that we think about the consequences of our words or actions before we actually say or do anything. What better way to develop proper discernment than through the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whether we think about what He might do in a particular situation or imagine that He is there looking over our shoulder, we may think twice about going to that party, getting into that car with someone who has been drinking, skip class and any number of things that can be harmful to us.
However, there is something even more powerful, a method practiced by the most pious of Christians throughout history, the use of the Jesus Prayer. If you read the Gospel of Luke (18:9-14) you will find a parable by Jesus introducing us to this prayer of repentance. The prayer most commonly says, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner”, but it does have other variations that are equally helpful to us in time of temptation. The Holy Fathers say that just calling on the name of Jesus chases away the demons, for He is always everywhere present and ready to hear our call for help.
Make the Jesus Prayer a part of your life. Use it when you find yourself in a bad situation, when you are tempted, when you have to make a decision and when you pray. It will help you to remember that you live in the presence of God. It will help you make good decisions and most importantly, bring Jesus Christ closer to your heart so that you can have a personal relationship with Him your entire life. “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy upon me.”