Experiencing God
- Michael Haldas
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
“How do we experience God? Do we hear voices? Do we sense a presence? Are there physical sensations involved? Should we see light or feel warmed? Some may be surprised to hear that our belief in God is not based in an interior human experience. Such things stretch across an incredible variety (such is the nature of human experience). However, none of these are definitive, none of them meet the standard of canonical authority, and none of them make the stuff of persuasive religious argument. I do not mean to suggest that the personal experiences of believers have no validity – only that they are private by nature (no one can get inside your head and judge for themselves what you are experiencing).” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“…the saints teach us that God is “everywhere present and filling all things.” Although He is entirely transcendent, He is simultaneously entirely imminent as He acts in His creation and is close to our hearts….“God is not place, He is being.”…we cannot conceive of God as a thing within a universe of things. He is not a substance or material that somehow overlaps the seen and unseen realms. He can be fully present in the world while being completely distinct from it. He fills it in a way that is entirely active, not passive. In other words, He is constantly interacting with His creation through His love, grace, and power. This continually creative action is referred to as His uncreated energies, activities, or operations. We should not think of these energies as something separate from God; nor should we envision them as some sort of radiation emitted by God; rather, they are God acting upon, in, or through the cosmos…these activities are also the way we come to know God…we could say this is similar to the way we come to know another human being. We do not, somehow, peer into their being or read their minds; we know them by what they do, by their words, deeds, body language, etc. The Church Fathers understood that we come to know the Persons of the Trinity in the same way we come to know any man, woman, or child: through interaction.” (Fr. Joseph Lucas)
“While God is everywhere, whether we understand Him or not, thinking about a past spiritual experience has another advantage: when we recall an experience of God, we reactivate the Energy of His Presence. It’s like we force Him to be Present again. For example, let’s say that you once received Holy Communion and had the experience of truly receiving Christ–you can’t explain it, it doesn’t make any sense, but you felt it. If you were to recall this during your hard times, or even all the time if you can, it’s like carrying Christ with you throughout the day while you work, cook or drive. Recalling a precious experience can help you start your prayers and from this starting point, your prayer can move on.” (Bishop Emilianos)
“During our travels and while we are at home, in formal interviews and small talk, in planned meetings and chance encounters, God works on our dispositions and understanding. Nothing in this world remains outside His purview. The way of the Lord is to be everywhere present, filling all things. Let us be attentive to what He is doing and saying at every moment.” (Dynamis 6/2/2024)
“If we keep in mind that God is with us everywhere we go, at least when unholy words slip from our tongue, we will be conscious of it. And realizing our fault, we can immediately repent of it. Meanwhile, the practice of the awareness of God can open our hearts and minds to the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. And the result is that our speech becomes worthy of being in the Almighty’s presence…when we sin against our neighbor, we are actually sinning against God, for God is everywhere. He dwells in the souls of each and every one of us.” (Fr. Basil, Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica)
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