By Joseph Perry

Do you agree that we need more of God where we are?

We need Him in us and around us every moment of our lives. As we live in these last and evil days, we see people killing innocent people for no reason. Violence is ever before us. We see so many people who appear to be getting farther away from God. Trouble is on every hand. You can’t go out anymore and have a nice time with your family and friends like you want without being afraid of trouble developing.

You can’t go to school, or even work, you can’t even come to church and praise God, without someone wanting to pull out a gun. It’s so important that we, those of us who love the Lord with all our heart, become more filled with His power. We have no other positive option. We need it more now than ever before. We need God’s Spirit ruling and dominating our lives.

We need to have God’s Spirit operating effectively in us so we can become sensitive to what we need to do and where we need to go in our daily walk. In order to have more of His presence and His power, we have to really want it.

If we are going to be filled up with God’s power, we have to want it. If the truth be told, there are people who really don’t want more of God; they don’t want more of His presence in the earth. There are people who really want to do only what they want. They want more of God when they need Him to execute His power. When trouble comes, or when adversity shows up, then we want Him to be ever present. If a poll was taken, I wonder how many would desire more of God in their life. I wonder how many would say they wanted to be filled with His power in their lives every moment of their lives. Because more of His presence and being filled with His power means more of Him and less of us.

After Jesus left the earth and went back to glory with the Father, He left us with His power. The power of God desires to be present in those of us who gives their lives over to God. He yearns to dwell in each of us to show us the way, to guide our every move. He wants to make His presence known in every aspect of our lives. If you want His presence, all you have to do is call on Him, yield yourself to Him and let Him have His way.

The presence of God is made available to all who will receive Him. In times like these, we need more of God. In times like these, we need Him not only to show up but also to take over.

Today, know that you don’t have to be afraid, for the Lord your God is with you. He will guide you and protect you all the days of your life. He is ever present to keep you in perfect peace.

The Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Perry is pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church. Email him at josephp134@gmail.com.