Encountering the presence of God

Following Pentecost Sunday our house group met this week.One of the subjects we looked at was knowing the presence of God in our lives.
How do we encounter the living God in the person of the Holy Spirit;( that person of the Godhead sent by Jesus to be with his followers after he ascended to the right hand of the Father),  how and when does He fill us and make His presence felt deep in our lives?
Our bibles are more full of that encounter than anything else. From the early pages we see God walking in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. Friends walking together in friendship without fear or hindrance. However sin entered the garden and the first couple were banished from the presence of God. The rest of the Old testament is the story of the journey back into the presence of God culminating in the New Testament with the death and resurrection of Jesus and the coming of the Spirit.
 In  the Old Testament we see how God made himself known to individuals for instance Enoch who walked with God.
 Moses who met with God in the middle of a burning bush, that initial terrifying meeting, growing into a relationship with God showing himself partially to Moses but shielding him from the full force of His radiant glory by placing him in a crevice in the rock, and the encounter in the tent of meeting beautifully retold here.

I think to know the Presence we have to have both the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus said that only the pure in heart would see God we need the application of the blood of the crucified Lord Jesus in our lives applied gently but thoroughly by the Holy Spirit before we can have hearts that are pure enough to see God.
We need the gifts of the Spirit so we can make something of that presence known to others. The Holy Spirit is the still small voice that whispers to us something of God deep in our own spirits.
Personally  I sometimes use imaginary pictures of the Temple, I imagine myself hand in hand with Jesus approaching the throne room of God walking through the curtain  which was torn in two at the Crucifixion. I approach that wonderful throne of grace where I bring my requests to my loving heavenly Father who  is only to pleased to welcome me and listen with an open heart.
Jesus seemed to always have a knowledge of exactly what his Father wanted Him to do. His prayers where answered because he was in exact step with his Father.
In our prayer time we need to spend time waiting and worshiping. When a group of Christians come together to pray they can expect the Shechinah glory to come down into their  midst. Jesus said  where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst Matt18:20 and He is that presence manifested through his Spirit.
Let us pray that we all know more of His abiding presence in our lives.