To become God conscious is not an automatic experience, but one that is carefully cultivated over time. This implies that you will not live in a state of being conscious of God’s presence until you acknowledge your need of it and pursue the experience. The Psalmist says, “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” (Ps 16:8). It is our responsibility, not God’s, to set the Lord always before us. It is we who determine how much of our consciousness God occupies.
Our consciousness of God’s presence in and around us depends on our choice of focus. Whatever we set always before us, becomes the content of our awareness. This is why James says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. …” (James 4:8). Hence, whether the Lord becomes the object of your steadfast focus or not is strictly your choice.
“I have set the Lord always before me” implies that to live in a state of God consciousness, you need to make God first in your life. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Ex 20:3), is still relevant and applicable today. We cannot live in the awareness of God’s presence, if we relegate Him to a secondary place in our lives. Therefore, in order to become increasingly God conscious, we need to get rid of all forms of idolatry in our lives. Remember, an idol is anything that comes before God in the life of a man or woman. Whatever replaces or even pushes God to a secondary place or position in the life of a man or woman, becomes an idol to him or her. Whatever we consciously allow to lead us into disobedience to God is an idol to us.
No one else can set the Lord always before you. It is your exclusive prerogative. And the first step towards setting the Lord always before you is to make God’s word the central object of your meditation all day long (Ps 1:1-3). God and His word are one and the same: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn 1:1). The second step is to cultivate intimacy with God through prayer. The Bible commands us to “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philip 4:6). In addition, befriend the Holy Spirit by asking Him for help and responding to His promptings. He is the only person who can make God’s presence real to you (Zec 4:6). Finally, avoid evil association, for it dulls your sensitivity to spiritual realities (1Cor 15:33). Shalom.
