Life in the Presence of God

Practices for Living in Light of Eternity

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Pub Date 07 Nov 2017 | Archive Date 06 Nov 2017

Description

  • 2018 IVP Readers' Choice Award

God is everywhere and always with us. So why don't we experience his presence more? Life is full of distractions, and our 24/7 news cycles and social media drown out the voice of God. It's hard to discern God's presence amid the hubbub. But experiencing God is not just for the super-spiritual or ultra-mature. Every Christian can learn to cultivate a greater awareness of God in the everyday. Ken Boa offers a contemporary guide to practicing the presence of God. Using biblical foundations, living and historical examples, and evidence from neuroscience, Ken reveals how we can walk with God and abide in his presence. We need to rethink how we use our time and technology to make room for God, to train ourselves with new habits that deepen our awareness of God. This book offers not a magical technique but dozens of practical exercises and disciplines that help us draw close to God even in the midst of our cacophonous modern culture. Practicing God's presence is not just for the professionals. It's for ordinary people like us. And the more we live in God's presence, the greater our abiding peace and joy.

  • 2018 IVP Readers' Choice Award

God is everywhere and always with us. So why don't we experience his presence more? Life is full of distractions, and our 24/7 news cycles and social media drown out the...


Advance Praise

"Few, if any, authors have impacted my spiritual life like Ken Boa has. I have known Ken personally for over thirty years and never am I not challenged in my walk with Christ when in Ken's presence, literally or through something he has written. This book to me embodies Ken's life message. Living in the presence of God by practicing that presence of God is the only life worth living. This book is not only challenging but extraordinarily practical."

Ron Blue, Kingdom Advisors

"Ken Boa consistently reminds us that a truly biblical worldview is more than an academic exercise or simply having the right intellectual thoughts about God. It's about knowing him, who is the truth, and living in light of that reality and in relationship with Christ everywhere, every minute. Like everything Boa writes, this book will lead you more deeply into that reality and relationship."

John Stonestreet, president, The Colson Center for Christian Worldview, cohost, BreakPoint Radio

"Ken Boa's writings have played a major role in my spiritual growth and development for over twenty years. This volume will move to the top of my favorite books by him. I long to experience more of God in this noisy and busy world, and Ken has provided a fresh, practical, biblical pathway filled with wisdom, insight, and theological depth. I highly recommend it."

Chip Ingram, Living on the Edge, pastor, Venture Christian Church

"As the old adage says, 'We are known by the company we keep!' And, I might add, we will be known in positive, life-transforming ways by keeping company with Jesus. But the challenge is getting our heads and hearts around the discipline of practicing his presence. Thankfully, Ken Boa helps us! Life in the Presence of God is a clear and compelling guide to the joy of intimacy with Christ."

Joseph M. Stowell, president, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids

"In his latest book, my friend Ken Boa has restored my appreciation for the word practical. Too often, help in living the Christian life that claims to be practical offers little more than simplistic solutions to surface problems. Dr. Boa gives no such help. With clear writing, passionate hope, and spiritual wisdom, he provides biblical direction that will lead anyone hungry for God into his presence. This book deserves a careful read and an even more productive reread. Expect to discover practical guidance to satisfy the deepest longings of the human soul."

Larry Crabb, New Way Ministries

"In this book, Ken Boa states that we can live the kind of unified, spiritually rich life we're meant to live. From cover to cover, he backs up this claim with biblical verification, illustrations, and practical solutions to help readers achieve a greater measure of this kind of life. I recommend it!"

Gene A. Getz, professor, pastor, author, president of the Center for Church Renewal

"Ah, at last—a modern mentor guides us into the ancient path of practicing the presence of God! Life in the Presence of God will stir your soul to see (and give you tools to seek) an enduring nearness with God that remains steady and satisfying regardless of the temperature of our emotions or the changes in our scenery."

Alicia Britt Chole, author of The Sacred Slow

"God is everywhere—all the time. But how can we become aware of God's ongoing presence and activity? How can we live an abundant life of constant communion with God? In this book, Ken Boa draws on Brother Lawrence and other practitioners of God's presence to answer these questions. But Ken goes beyond their examples and advice by providing a comprehensive guidebook full of specific, practical suggestions. Those hungering for sustained intimacy with the triune God will welcome his rich insights and recommendations."

James Taylor, professor of philosophy, Westmont College

"He's done it again. In Life in the Presence of God, Ken Boa takes on one of the most important principles of living a Christ-centered life and provides a clear road map of insight and application. Like so many admonitions in Scripture, the idea of abiding in Christ appears to be straightforward but proves more challenging, even elusive, in practice. Exactly what does 'abide in Christ' mean, and how does one do that? Boa creatively blends Scripture, spiritual principles, and the testimonies of historical figures who modeled a life of abiding in Christ together in a clear, practical manner that makes this wonderful promise more accessible for the rest of us."

Pat MacMillan, president, Triaxia Partners

"Few, if any, authors have impacted my spiritual life like Ken Boa has. I have known Ken personally for over thirty years and never am I not challenged in my walk with Christ when in Ken's presence...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780830845163
PRICE $22.00 (USD)

Average rating from 3 members


Featured Reviews

Happy release day to this fantastic and Christ-centered book. It’s a lot more comprehensive than the title might suggest, because Boa covers “being mindful of God’s presence in a distracted world” for a variety of topics including spiritual disciplines, sin, suffering, identity, and more. It’s much more than a guide to putting your phone down and getting into God’s Word, although that’s covered as well. I can’t even recommend it for a particular kind of Christian in a particular stage of life—it’s just that good in its analysis of life’s matters that we all will face at some point and where we can see Jesus in them.

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Life in The Presence of God: Practices for Living in Light of Eternity by Kenneth Boa (IVP Books; 2017)

Ken Boa is a prolific and most eloquent author in his former books, and Life in The Presence of God upholds those characteristics in spades. The theme if the book is to try to be a more practical and accessible resource to help Christians truly experience the presence of God on a daily and ongoing basis. Boa takes his inspiration from famous writers of the past who wrote about their own struggles to achieve a vital and ongoing sense of God’s presence; such as Brother Lawrence, Frank Laubach, and Thomas Kelly. Boa states that while these writings have much value to them for inspiration, they all lack one very vital element —- how to actually put into practice the disciplines and choices needed to draw closer to God and to have His presence as a normal occurrence in the life of believers. The author aims in this book to correct that problem and to try to focus on small and simple steps that grow gradually moe involved and fulfilling one time and consistent practice.

The book is divided into two parts: Part One provides the biblical basis for believers to strive for a near-constant awareness of God and His closeness; and Part Two provides the steps and building blocks to achieving greater awareness of God. Boa mentions the growing body of knowledge of his the brain works — how it remembers, how habits are formed, and the plasticity of the brain to learn or relearn tasks. Thus, the majority of the book shows how once can rewire their brain, learn to see the world through God’s eyes, reorganizing your time to make learning these skills a priority, the importance of confession and repentance to do away with any blocks in relating to God, and the very great importance that community has in helping us to shape our abilities to see ourselves and others through God’s viewpoint.

This book is written in an accessible and engaging manner, as Boa shares insightful experiences and anecdotes to strengthen his case. The book also allows readers access to online training guides. Boa is a most entertaining, yet deeply spiritual and practical all at once. This book is highly recommended for anyone who has despaired of their lack of closeness with God, and given real hope and tools to live in this world as a subject of the Kingdom of God.

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Kenneth Boa takes the Christian life and boils it down to its practical practices. Conformed to His Image defines for the Christian whose image we should conform to and how to do it. He breaks it down into easy-to-understand instructions. Now the follow-up book is Life in the Presence of God. It focuses primarily on prayer--which is the foundation for our relationship with God. Again, with easy-to-understand instructions and reasons for following them, Kenneth shows how every Christian can experience the presence of God in a continuous way.

Ken's language is practical and down-to-earth. His narrative is biblical in all ways and theologically sound.

Five Stars

My thanks goes to Intervarsity Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

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