The Need for Pastors to Experience God’s Presence Today
By Rothschird Dangervil
Have you ever felt like you have drifted away from God, although you read your Bible and prepare sermons for your congregations? Are you sharing the information but not feeling it yourself? Well, you are not alone. There are pastors who read the Bible for information and preparation but not for transformation.
Before coming to Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, I used to read the Bible looking for information and satisfaction. I spent my time reading to find valuable lessons, encouragement, and hope for others but neglected my needs. Coming to the Seminary has impacted the way that I read the Bible. Now I am not only reading for information but also for transformation. I came to understand that to experience God’s presence, I needed to change my method. Reading the text was not enough; I needed to see God through the text. I started to spend more time reading the Word of God by pericope, one story or passage at a time, and meditating on the application of the text in my life. I also spend more time praying. A lot of the time I pray in the prayer room in Seminary Hall. Other times I do a prayer walk or I go to pray in the Garden of Grace by Pioneer Memorial Church. I can assure you if you spend at least one hour each day, meditating on the word of God and reflecting on the cross of calvary that your life will never be the same again.
I believe that our Church needs leaders who experience God’s presence daily. Imagine, how the Church would be if our pastors were to walk daily with God and be filled with the Holy Spirit. I am certain that the Church would not be the same. The Church is spiritually sinking because the leaders are spiritually sinking. For the church to experience, the presence of God, pastors, and leaders must first experience the presence of God. Exodus 19:1-25 demonstrates that Moses had to experience God’s presence first before God could come down and meet the Israelites. Pastors and leaders let’s not miss any opportunity to experience the presence of God daily. Not only do you need God’s presence to lead the Church but most importantly for your salvation.
God is a relational God, He desires to have a relationship with each one of us but as pastors, we should be even closer to God than anyone else because we are his workmanship. The Word says, “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8, NIV). God wants to dwell amongst us, and He wants us to experience His presence. It was never His intention that men be separated from Him, and He proved it through the plan of redemption. It shows the certainty and truthfulness of the Bible because about seven hundred years before the actual birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah prophesied, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV).
“Immanuel means ‘with us God’ and alludes to the ideological foundation of the house of David (2 Sam. 7:3, 9). Immanuel implies the Lord’s presence, blessing, and protection and functions as a guarantee of peace. Even if God chastised the Davidic Kings with the rod, His mercy would not depart from them. But the sign would not function without the king’s faith in God.”¹
Immanuel is the word that became flesh and lived amongst us, and before He ascended, He said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NIV).
To experience God’s presence, pastors need to spend more time in prayer and studying the Scriptures for transformation rather than information. It must be a constant search for the presence of God, day after day. The good news is God’s presence is available to us, and He is nearer than many people may think. The word of God says, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12-13, NIV).
Pastors and leaders of the Church, let us earnestly seek God’s presence in surrendering, praying, and studying the Scriptures. I assure you, when you taste and see how good the presence of God is, even your congregation will experience His presence. Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NIV).
¹ Rodríguez Ángel Manuel et al., Andrews Bible Commentary: Light, Depth, Truth (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2022), p. 852.
Rothschird Dangervil is pursuing a Master in Divinity (MDiv) at the Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.
