I heard a sermon more than 30 years ago on having a constant consciousness of God, and it has stuck with me for decades. I admit that I am still working toward being mindful of God daily, hourly, by the minute, and even by the second. Do you remember when you first fell in love? The person you loved was always on your mind, and he/she was about the only thing that you could think about. That is what having a constant consciousness of God is like.
Having a constant consciousness of God is living in a state of keeping our mind on him. It is seeking him first in every situation. Often, we seek our own wisdom, especially when we excel at handling certain problems in our lives. Sometimes, we focus on the problem instead of God and his answers. David did not have this issue. He did not focus on the size, strength, or verbal bluster of Goliath. He looked to God. He said, “Who is this uncircumcized Philistine who dares to come against my God, the God of the universe?” (My paraphrase) When we have our mind consciously focused on God instead of our problems and struggles, we can be victorious, like David.
The Bible also says in Philippians 4 to pray without ceasing. That doesn’t mean we pray 100% of the time, but rather that we keep our minds in a state of listening for God, always ready to hear what he is saying and being prepared to obey what we hear him tell us immediately. This is having a constant consciousness of God. We keep our minds focused on God and in a state of readiness to hear God and to be his obedient vessel.
Jewish rabbis often wear a cord from their headdress that has a little box at the end of it. That box represents the Torah, the Word of God. It is between their eyes, always in their sight. They keep God’s Word always in their vision, always in their mind. That, too, is having a constant consciousness of God. When we read, memorize, and meditate on God’s Word, it keeps our focus on him because the Bible is all about him and reveals his nature and character to us.
When we pray with our understanding and pray with our spirit, it helps us keep a constant consciousness of God. The Holy Spirit reveals God to us, so we can’t help but keep our minds on God. When we keep our minds on God, our problems become much smaller or even disappear. Our victory is assured because we are constantly thinking about God and seeking his opinion. After all, his opinion is really the only one that counts for eternity. Keeping God always on our mind keeps us humble and helps us receive what God says like a little child. Then we are able to receive his kingdom in every area of our lives.
Keeping a constant consciousness of God is not as complicated as it sounds. It is being so in love with God that we think about him all the time. It is about thinking about God and what he wants, instead of relying on our own understanding and reasoning. It involves reading God’s Word, memorizing it, and meditating on it. Then we can know who God is and where our mind should be focused. It involves having a mindfulness of God and keeping Him always in our sight, as the Jewish rabbis do. It is also praying with our understanding and with our spirit, because prayer is communicating with God.
We need to be in a state of readiness to listen to God and to be obedient. We need to rely on God the way a little child depends on their parents. A constant consciousness of God is about having a close, intimate relationship with God. God will listen to us, speak to us, and reveal more of himself to us because he is a relational God. He wants to walk and talk with us like he did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. You can spend time with God and ask him how you can have “a constant consciousness of God.” he won’t disappoint you.
Tags: listen, holy spirit, obedience, hear, aware, consciousness, word, meditate
