REVIEW: “Practicing the Presence of Jesus” by Wally Armstrong {re-read}

I gave my copy of this book away to my sister, recently, but I made a copy of it for myself before I did. And, then I got the crazy idea into my head to type the whole thing out, and save it in PDF format so that I could load it onto my eReader. Which is what I did. It took me several days.

But, in the process of all that silliness, I re-read this short little book. And, I’m glad, as there were things that I saw afresh, and reminders that I needed to hear. I am going to copy and paste a bit of what I wrote about this before, as I like how I already put it:

I have been HIGHLY recommending this book to people. In its pages, Wally talks about doing exactly what the title of the book suggests: Practicing being more mindful of Jesus’ presence with us, moment by moment.

Jesus is “Emmanuel” — God with us. But, sometimes we forget that He has said, “Never will I leave you.” I know I was often been guilty of this. I’d pray, but feel that my prayers were going off to find God, wherever He may have been at the moment (probably off taking care of something far more important than my simple requests).

This book is a gentle reminder that God is not “off somewhere” when we pray. He’s right here beside us, anxiously awaiting the minute where we remember that He’s craving relationship with us. He wants us to recognize Him in every aspect of our lives.

One of the things Wally talked about in the book really stuck with me, and that’s the idea of setting a chair nearby (across from you), and imagining Jesus sitting in it, having a conversation with Him there. The physical chair is supposed to be a reminder of the fact that Jesus is right here with us, not distant or removed.

Of course, Wally also reminds us that we don’t have to be limited to a chair. We can picture Jesus sitting in the passenger seat of the car when we’re driving somewhere, or we can picture Him walking beside us, shoulder-to-shoulder, as we go for a walk, or get our groceries, etc. Little things like this help to put this idea into perspective, and show the true nature of God… how He longs for our friendship. He wants to love on us, and share every aspect of our lives with us. If only we’ll remember that He’s here.

I have tried this little idea out — imagining Jesus sitting on the couch opposite me, in my living room, and just talking with Him as if we’re visiting over a cup of tea — and it really is making a huge difference. Like I said, I used to pray and think that my prayers were floating off to wherever He was at the moment. But, now I realize that He’s not “out there”, but instead, right here. And, I love this! It makes the relationship with Him so much more real, and it really gives Him more human characteristics… I feel I can relate to Him more… I feel closer to Him this way (and not just physically).

Sure, at first it was very awkward to do this little experiment. I felt goofy talking to my couch! LOL. And, Wally says that this is normal, and to be expected. But, when I let go of feeling crazy for what I was doing, and just let myself talk with my Lord, it really was an awesome experience. Like I said, it has made me feel so much closer to Him than I have with my previous way of doing things. And, I like this new way so much better.

So, yeah. I definitely recommend you get a copy of this book. It’s very short, so it doesn’t take long to read. But, it really is worthwhile, if you ask me. This is so much more the style of Christianity that I’m looking for… 

And, just to add to that… In the past four months since I first read this book, I have grown by leaps and bounds in my faith walk! And, I think this book had a lot to do with it, as it PERSONALIZED Jesus for me… I now can picture Him sitting with me, in jeans and a t-shirt, laughing over something, giving me insights into other things, etc. I’ve started trusting Him more in all aspects of my life, because I feel that I can relate to Him so much more. My entire view of Jesus is changing — no longer do I have to hold on to the distorted views I grew up with (Jesus as distant, or a stern disciplinarian). Instead, I see His sense of humor, and can literally feel His love and His patience. I see that He’s merciful and kind. Really… this book was the catalyst in getting me started, and I cannot recommend it enough.