Your Presence Alone

“Come. I want to remind you about something. Remember when you lived in the city?” My answer was, “Yes Lord, I surely do. I will never forget that transition in my life.” Horns honking. Sirens from police and rescue vehicles blaring all hours of the night. From the inside of our home, I could hear people talking outside. I even heard heels clicking as the ladies walked past our house late at night. Our landline was tapped until they finally realized that we were not a threat to their natural way of living. We lived next door to neighbors who looked one way as they headed to work every morning and then would transition into someone else at night – a memory that I still see in my country bumpkin mind. Folks this is just a snippet of things I saw. “Oh yes Lord. I remember.” I remember it well. It took several months before I overcame the sounds of that neighborhood where I could finally sleep all night.

However temporary, where you live is your neighborhood. So, what did we do for our neighborhood? We prayed. We prayed for God’s protection over our street, our neighbors, and ourselves every day for three years without any major incidents that I could physically see. In fact, I grew somewhat comfortable and took for granted that we were divinely protected living on “O” Street. I remember asking, “Lord, why do we pray for this neighborhood every day? Nothing out of the ordinary seems to be happening here.” Yet, there was no release to stop praying, so we kept praying anyway.

Don’t take for granted that God doesn’t hear your prayers because He does. Yes, we still saw questionable activity, but nothing like what we saw when we first moved in. So, at the end of those three years, we made a bittersweet decision to sell and move on. Two weeks on the market, one offer, the settlement, and then moving truck workers loaded our belongings. Simple and seamless, right?

The psalmist who said that I could go to God Most High to hide, didn’t lie one iota. He further said that I couldgo to God for protection and that He would save me from hidden dangers. Look at that – hidden dangers. He also said that when I come to Him for protection, He would cover me. This is all true. To my point. Do you realize Who and how much power resides within you? For three years, I was oblivious of Holy Spirit’s divine protection and the angels assigned to me.

As it so happened, we went back the next day to clean the house and leave for the last time. When we parked our car, I was surprised to see that “O” Street looked like it did the day we moved in. Once the light left, that same spirit who ruled that portion of the street immediately descended and took up residence once again.

Take heart in what Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do, remember the Light of the Kingdom dwells within you and theyare watching.

Thank you, Lord, for graciously showing me this.