PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

I’d like to share some personal experiences in practicing the Presence of God which I learned while attending Pinecrest Bible Training Center in 1978. In the previous post “Waiting on the Lord” March 4^, 2021 I posted an article by Wade Taylor who was the founder of the school which was located near Dolgeville, NY near the Adirondack Mountains.

The school had formerly been a sanatorium for people recovering from Tuberculosis in the 1920’s. It was a Spartan type of place with used furniture and basic living quarters for the students. It was somewhat isolated in the woods and was a great place to wait on and seek the Lord and His Word.

Mr. Taylor was a tall quiet and rather shy person who had the presence of God about him. He always encouraged our small student body to seek the Lord and wait on Him. He trusted and believed for God’s blessing and provision for the school which operated on a tight budget based on God’s provision.

An example would be the time the oil truck arrived to fill the tank with payment due upon delivery and there was no money to pay. As the tank was being filled a check arrived for the school which would cover the check that was being written for the oil. Stuff like that happened all the time.

Mr. Taylor’s motto was that we should walk in the spirit and follow the leading of the spirit. We were to worship the Lord throughout the days of our lives. Sometimes as we would be changing classes at the sound of the bell worship and singing would break out in the hallways as we went to our next classroom.

Many times the worship would continue in the classroom and ripple through the school area. The entire school in each classroom would become a worship service with words of exhortation from students and teachers. It was really something to experience!

A few times mini revivals emanated from the mess hall, as we called our dining area. The kitchen staff would start to sing and bang on pots and pans and we’d be marching around singing and worshipping the Lord…it was real! We referred to these times as “the pots and pans revival” and when it happened it was spontaneous…they were not planned.

Winter was brutal up there. It snowed and snowed. In fact the buildings of the small school were connected by a tunnel in order to not have to go outside in freezing weather.

In the evenings we as students had to have a “night watch” from 6 PM until 6 AM each evening. These were three hour Biblical watches. I usually ended up with the later watches from 12 Midnight to 3 AM or 3 AM to 6 AM. Great times to meditate and wait on the Lord.

Each hour on the hour the night watchman had to go outside and walk around the school to make sure all was well.

Now, the chow in the mess hall was a real starchy diet. Everyone joked about it. Mac and Cheese was a staple. It was rough. One day in the late fall I had the 3 AM to 6 AM watch. I was disparate for some fruit. As I waited on the Lord I asked several times for some apples…”Please, Father, can you get me an apple or two,” I prayed.

At ten minutes to 6 AM I walked through the tunnel and began my circle of the school buildings. As I came around to the entrance of the school not a soul was to be found. Everyone was asleep and I was heading back to bed to catch an hour or two before class.

As I walked up to the entrance doors there on the right side of the steps were two shiny apples! I was stunned. I looked around and there was nobody. I waited a few seconds and looked around again. Total quiet, nobody. Hallelujah! Two apples just for me! I ate one and gave the other to a fruit starved friend! My simple request had been fulfilled!

Finally the most wonderful thing which happened to me was the actual presence of the Lord Himself. I don’t even remember exactly how it started but one day I felt His presence in a quiet powerful way as I was going through my day. It was a quiet sense of joy and refreshing.

It continued the next day and then the next day. Soon, as I remember, some others were sensing this and asked if they could hang out with me. Sure. We’d go somewhere and sit and bask in the presence.

One day a fellow who was a Pastor from New York City visited and heard about this and asked if he could hang out with me for the day. Sure…we went to a coffee shop for coffee and just sat there in bliss. We both were just enjoying His being with us. The fellow didn’t want to leave.

This lasted for about three weeks. I remember driving home from the school and the presence was so strong I couldn’t drive so I asked the other person with me to drive as I opened the window, leaned back, and received from the well.

After I got home it ended. I’ve never had such an experience since. I don’t get dreams and vision or any of those kinds of things even to this day—but that was quite the experience!

Yes, Pinecrest was some kind of place. We all learned about the Word there and how to wait and practice the presence of God. “The Lord is in His Holy Temple, keep silence before Him.”

The school is no longer there but the experience and things we all learned while there will always be with us! We were transformed and learned to hear in the spirit as we waited on and with Him!