By Lori Willard, 2nd Vice President

Genesis 5:22 "After be begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters."

Genesis 5:24 "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."

Genesis 6:9 "This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God."

"Practice the presence of God." This was a phrase that my longtime friend challenged me with recently. We know the Lord is with us but how often do we realize He really is right beside us? Walking with God and practicing the presence of God can be a similar challenge.

Psalm 139 – The whole chapter emphasizes our importance to God.

He encompasses us.

Psalm 139:5,6 "You have hedged (enclosed) me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it."

The Lord so desires to show us The Way - to walk in it.

Isaiah 30:21 "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left."

The following verses refer to walking with God in an intimate relationship.

Deuteronomy 6:5-9 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

As we teach God's ways (through the Word) to our children, the Lord calls us to an intimate relationship with them. It is a picture of what our relationship with God should look like too. He wants to teach us as we are talking of Him in our house, when we are walking by the way, when we lie down, when we rise up. We need God's Word ever present in our lives: on our walls, doorposts, gates and, most of all, in our hearts and minds. Remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus with Jesus? (Luke 24) They walked and talked with Jesus. They were having intimate conversations with Jesus.

Oh how He longs to "walk with us"! Let's walk together with Him and each other while we practice His presence!