“In Him we live and move and have our being,” but too often we are not consciously aware of that fact. We’re like the two disciples on the Emmaus Road walking beside the risen Jesus and hearing His voice, but unaware that He is truly with us (and living in us) no matter where we go! Like Mary at the empty tomb, we too often overlook Jesus because although He is right in front of us, we mistake Him for an ordinary gardener.

We act like Jesus has an on/off switch. We want to be aware of Him when we feel desperately needy, but then we tune out that awareness when we want to make our own choices and not be bothered by His convicting presence. We even use the words “sacred” and “secular” to describe the two states of consciousness that we waver between. It’s sad, but if we are honest, we would have to admit that we probably spend much more time unaware of the real presence of the living Jesus that we do savoring and surrendering to His presence.

So how can we live immersed in conscious awareness of the presence of Jesus? For me the key is an open heart that is willing to hear and to remember the words of Jesus (and the words of the Holy Spirit) speaking from the Bible and to let those living words burn in my heart, not only when I read the Word but throughout the day and night, even when those words challenge and convict me. When I refuse to “quench” the Holy Spirit and keep my heart open to His still small voice, He walks with me and talks with me and brings Scriptures to my mind and keeps my mind and heart focused on the risen Jesus. When I ignore the voice of God’s Spirit, I quench Him and my awareness of Jesus drifts from my consciousness.

I pray anywhere and everywhere but my favorite place to pray is in my bed when I lie down and every time I wake up during the night. I talk to God some, but I mainly listen and as I do a word comes to my mind and then more words. Then they become a sentence. The process often repeats until I have several sentences on my heart. When I fall asleep and wake up later, the sentences are still on my mind so when I get up, I post them on social media and in my blog. This happens almost every night. I also talk to and listen to God and seek to stay aware of His presence throughout the day.