Presence and Power

“Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51:11

In Psalm 51:11, King David makes a strange statement to God that can be somewhat frightening at first glance. He asks God not to remove him from His presence or take the Holy Spirit away from him. No one wants to lose the presence of God or the Holy Spirit; and yet many fear that is exactly what will happen if they don’t get their act together – that God is going to get so fed up that He will finally just wash His hands of them forever. What a terrible burden to carry through life!

This is not what King David meant when he prayed these words. He was not referring to losing salvation or to having God forsake you forever. If we go back just one verse, we see that David had just asked God to give him a pure heart. As he is praying these words, he wants with everything in him to live a life of purity. He wants to take the right path this time. It is with this desire that the King asks God for His continual presence in his life.

There are two things that we all must have if we are going to live the life that God wants us to live. We need God’s presence and we need God’s power. King David understood this truth. That is what he was asking for in verse 11…the continual presence and power of God in his life.

The Christian life is not you living for God; it is God living through you. When you give your life to Jesus Christ you immediately get two things – you get the presence of God the Father in you, and the power of God the Spirit for you. This is the key to true and lasting revival. Revival is knowing I am going to live a life of purity, not because of my performance, but because of God’s presence and the Spirit’s power.

Dear Father, I want to experience the true revival of the presence and power of God. So Lord remind me that you are always with me and that your power is always available to me by your Holy Spirit. Help me to live in confidence because of those truths. In Jesus' name, amen.