“The Presence of God: The Importance of a Personal Encounter in Faith”

In his sermon “Someone is There,” A.W. Tozer emphasizes the importance of a personal encounter with God in one’s faith. He argues that whenever faith has been tested and proven to be real, it is accompanied by a sense of the “present” God – a feeling that God is actively involved in one’s life and is a real, tangible presence.

Tozer points to the holy Scriptures as an example of this personal encounter with God. The men and women of the Bible, he says, were able to talk with God and hold person-to-person conversations with Him. This sense of an actual encounter with a real person imbues their words and deeds with a sense of shining reality.

The early Christian church, too, was filled with this sense of the “Someone” who was present with them. The conviction that God was in their midst gave them a sense of awe and wonder, and this feeling made their religion invulnerable to critical attack. Those who worship a present God, Tozer says, can ignore the objections of unbelievers because they know that God is with them.

Tozer’s message reminds us of the importance of a personal relationship with God. It is not enough to simply believe in God in the abstract; we must actively seek to encounter Him in our daily lives and to hold conversations with Him. When we do, we will be filled with the same sense of awe and wonder that characterized the men and women of the Bible and the early Christian church. And like them, our faith will be unshakeable, no matter what obstacles we may face.