May your Presence never leave me.

 Presence of God, Be Upon Me

A Reflection on Exodus 33:14 and Psalm 16:11

Presence of God, be upon me—not a fleeting, distant glance,

But the weight of Your glory, the nearness of Your trance.

Not a visitor who comes and goes with morning or with night,

But the constant, holy atmosphere that turns my dark to light.

“My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14, AMP)

Let Your presence rest upon me like a mantle and a flame,

Not for my comfort only, but to glorify Your name.

When I rise, be my first thought; when I sleep, my last defense.

In every ordinary hour, be my holy reverence.

For in Your presence there is fullness—fullness of joy and peace,

Fullness of healing for the broken, fullness of release.

In Your presence, fear grows silent; shame is stripped of power.

In Your presence, even deserts blossom like a flower.

You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

Presence of God, be upon me in the valley and the peak,

In the silence of my weeping, in the words I cannot speak.

Be the fire by night to guide me, be the cloud by day to shade.

Let no step I take be lonely, let no prayer I pray be vain.

I open every door of my being—my mind, my heart, my will.

Come, Holy Spirit, settle here; these rooms with Your presence fill.

Let me live and move and have my being in Your constant, near embrace,

Until I see You face to face in that eternal place.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)

Presence of God, be upon me.

Now and always. Amen.