Our goal is to enter and remain in the presence of God through the pathways He has ordained for this purpose. The presence of God is our path and our destination. In Hebrew, the word Presence and the word Face are the same. In the ancient world without zoom and facetime, you could only be in the presence of someone when you were face to face with them. There was no remote presence.

Each week we are going to approach the pathways to God’s presence, or the spiritual disciplines, by linking one element of prayer with one aspect of Bible intake and one facet of worship.

You are invited to watch today's episode on video on our YouTube channel here: 

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This is our second episode in our Pathways to God’s presence series. If you missed our intro, please make sure to listen to last week’s episode, episode 185. We spent time laying out the land of what this series is about –the spiritual disciplines with a twist. We established that Jesus is the only pathway to God’s presence, and that He offers to teach us, through the Holy Spirit, how to nurture intimacy with God through the practice of timeless biblical principles that He himself role-modeled. If Jesus catered to His relationship with His Father through prayer, Scripture intake, and worship in various forms, then we too will benefit from the same.

We are seeing today that prayer, in its essential form, is adoration. All the other elements of confession, thanksgiving and intercession are rooted in adoration. God is not safe confessing to, if he is not the utterly majestic Being we adore; God is not worthy of our thanks if He is not the resplendent glorious Being who gives us all things and works all things for our good; God is not safe coming to when we have needs, if He is not the perfectly omnipotent and otherworldly generous and gentle Sovereign who has chosen to be introduced to us with the meek and loving title of Father.

About prayer, Stephanie says, “you are never more Christlike than when you adore God lavishly.”

We consider the study of Scripture as the essential element to know God. We adore God most when we are most aware of His perfection, beauty, loveliness and holiness. In other words, when we are saturated with the knowledge of Him. And we can only know God from the place where He has specifically revealed Himself – Scripture.

It means, we need to spend time in Scripture. We need to read it widely, and deeply both. We need to rake for leaves and dig for diamonds, as countless Bible teachers have described over many centuries.

We interact with Scripture first and foremost to know God. Yes, the Bible gives us much about our relationships with one another, and about ourselves too. We will discuss these elements in the weeks to come. But the main, primary, most essential purpose of the Bible is to draw us into the presence of God. When the Holy Spirit who lives within our hearts opens the words of the Scriptures to us, we are allowed into the presence of God. We get a glimpse of His face and behold His presence. It transforms us forever because, like the light that shone on Moses face when he came down the mountain after having spent time with God, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God is found in the radiant face of Christ Jesus our Lord (2Cor 4:6).

So, we read and study Scripture to know who God is.

The essence of this approach is actually worship. My primary goal is to meet God through the pages that He wrote. I want to know Him more. If I can discern a new glimpse into His face, if I can learn something new about the depths of His love and kindness and majesty and power, then I am a happy camper. A happy worshiper. Bible intake should always stem from adoration and lead to worship, which are essentially the same thing.

So today we looked at the element of adoration in prayer, and we have seen how intricately connected it is to the element of public worship. We have looked at a fresh way to study Scripture, all with the primary goal to KNOW GOD MORE because it’s a virtuous cycle: the more you know God, the more you are going to desire to adore Him, and the more you adore Him, the purer your heart gets, and this allow you in turn to experience deeper intimacy with Him, which is the ultimate form of knowledge. Which leads to more adoration, etc. I think this is the ultimate virtuous cycle, spiritually speaking, this side of heaven. I believe it is the essence of what our experience in heaven will be: utter delight in His presence, a heart growing fuller each moment because of an ever-deeper awareness and experience of His presence, beauty and loveliness. I think we have utterly no idea of how enjoyable heaven will be. We have no frame of reference, no clue for the ecstasy that awaits. This holy cycle of adoration and intimacy with God is its closest equivalent here on earth.

We have the fullness of the Spirit of Christ within us, because that same spirit had been living in the incarnated Christ. Jesus is the pathway to the presence of God, and more than that. He is God Himself. Jesus is the pathway and the destination. He is the way and the goal.

The Holy Spirit is your teacher and guide into the pathways to the presence of God through Jesus Christ our matchless Lord. Adore, behold, worship Him who was, and is and is to come.

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You are invited to join us on the Gospel Spice Prayer Bible Study, titled "The heart behind prayer" starting September 20, 2025! Details and registration here: https://www.gospelspice.com/prayer 

There are a few things in our Christian life that we know we should do more, or at least better – and prayer just might top the list. Prayer is a mystery. Why would a conversation with a human have any influence on God’s eternal, sovereign plan? It defies logic, and beckons love. How can God, the Almighty Lord of Hosts, be this close, this personal? It defies understanding, and beckons involvement.

But, lack of time, inspiration, and discipline, combined with the ruthless tyranny of our busy lives, push prayer to the periphery, to the “one day I’ll get to it” pile. And yet, we can excel at what we endeavor to undertake. So, why isn’t prayer more of a spiritual priority? Could we develop a mindset around prayer that made it attractive, inspiring, even maybe delightful? What if we attuned our spiritual ears to listen to God, and our spiritual eyes to see His provision?

As an unassuming student, I’m going to humbly offer to share the little I have learned from others about the joy of prayer. I will give us theology, practical tips, and useful resources, sharing what works for me as we, together, learn to pray.

If you find prayer intimidating, or if your lack of prayer makes you feel guilty or “less than,” then this is the place for you! If you have been a student of prayer for many years, this is the place for you too! If you have breath in your lungs, then prayer can become one of the deepest joys of your day. Don’t miss out!

A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT PRAYER

To pray is to believe that God not only hears, but that He responds. It is to stand in the gap for a broken world, wielding the authority of Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and trusting in the goodness of the Father. The question is not whether prayer works, but whether we are willing to pray the kinds of prayers that invite God’s Kingdom into the darkest places of the earth—and of our own hearts.

We may never fully understand the mechanics of prayer, or how it intersects with God's sovereignty, but we are not called to understand everything. We are called to be faithful. And faithfulness means showing up—in prayer, in persistence, in expectation.

So today, let us pray not only for the comfort of our hearts, but for the transformation of the world. Let us take our place as image-bearers, co-laborers, and co-heirs. Let us believe that God is still listening—and still acting. Because He is.

There’s only one way to find out what might happen when we truly pray like this.

Let’s begin.

THE MINDSET BEHIND THIS COURSE

Before we begin, let me tell you the obvious: I don’t really know how to pray. I’m a humble student and absolute beginner at the holy endeavor that is prayer. So, this course isn’t really about what I’ve learned, or any wisdom I might have gathered. But, I’ve sat at the feet of many prayer warriors over the decades, through books and teachings.

So, I’ll share what I learned from them. Humility is going to be our primary heart posture! With each lesson, I will offer a few thoughts, practices, and ideas – with much humility, and not taking myself too seriously. I will also share her favorite books and resources about prayer. FInally, I will introduce you to some of the most influential prayer warriors of our history as the Body of Christ.

Most importantly, I will invite YOU to pray! Learning to pray comes from praying. Our humble ambition is to inspire you to pray, and to give you a few tips on how to do that. Then, it’s up to you! Prayer is a lifelong endeavor. Let’s make it delightful together!

So, let’s get started.

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